MARQUETTE COUNTY -- Bill and Kathy Davis have been recycling for more than 40 years. The Marquette Township residents take the time to reduce their environmental impact by reusing recycle bins.
In 2003, the Davis’ took a tour of the Marquette Waste Management facility to learn how their recyclables were being processed.
"One of the biggest surprises I had was that all of our recycling is co-mingled; you have cans, paper, plastic, everything all put into one container, and I didn't know how they were going to sort this all out, and so the real eye-opener for me was that they do receive it--nothing goes to the landfill here," says Bill Davis.
That means you can put all of your recyclables in one bin, from aluminum to glass to metal.
Many people perceive that Waste Management trucks have just one compartment and that all of recycling eventually ends up with the trash. But that's not the case. There are two boxes in the front of the truck--one for trash and one for recyclables.
"It's important to understand that they are dumped separately, processed separately, and taken care of appropriately," says Bruce Martin, District Operations Manager for Waste Management.
After the truck dumps the garbage from the bottom compartment, the hydraulic lift lowers all of the recycling, which is kept separate on top. The recyclables are compacted, than dumped directly into a truck, which usually carries about 23 tons. A subcontracted driver drives it down to their facility in Germantown, Wisconsin where it's sorted and sold.
So why across state lines you may ask? There's no outlet here in the U.P. to properly accommodate the approximately 46 tons of recycling that comes out of Marquette County each week.
As for any tips to recycling, Waste Management authorities encourage you to check what's accepted in your area. For example, pizza boxes, Styrofoam, and plastic bags are all not recyclable.
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