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Recycling has come so far.

If you read our newsletters, you know that two very important bills have been introduced in the legislature. Senate Bill 943 proposes to increase the surcharge on landfill tip fees to fund recycling and materials management oversight. House Bill 6483 proposes significant updates to Michigan solid waste law. Read on to learn more about your role in elevating these proposals.

Ten years of work have brought us here. What now?

Support recycling legislation!
We expect
Senate Bill 943 to be addressed before the end of the 2018 in this, the Lame Duck session of Governor Snyder's term. This bill would increase the current surcharge on landfill tip fees to fund recycling and industry oversight. The Governor has made it clear that this is a priority and he needs to see action on this before he takes action on other bills. But, anything can happen in Lame Duck.

This is where you come in. 
Your state legislators need to hear from you. Why is this important for your community, county, business, or household? We've worked to make it easy for you to educate your representatives about these two very important proposals.

Check out these links.

MRC Advocacy - for information on the work behind the proposals.
Be an Advocate - for information about how you can make an impact.
Has your city, township, or county passed a Resolution in support of funding recycling through a landfill tip fee surcharge? Have you made a call to your representative? Can your business sign-on to a letter of support. All of these are great ways to show your support for managing waste to the benefit of Michigan's economy and environment.

Quick facts about SB 943

  • Increases the surcharge on landfill tip fees to pay for recycling priorities, materials management, and brownfield remediation.
  • Current tip fee is $.36 per ton, the surcharge would potentially be increased to $4.44 per ton.
  • Households generate, on average, one ton of trash each year and therefore would pay about $4.44 per year.
  • 25% of funding would come from out-of-state, primarily Canada.
  • Recycling initiatives would receive $15 million annually.
  • Supports county planning, recycling and market infrastructure development, and community program development.
  • Provides sustainable long-term funding for identified priorities for the first time.
  • Amounts to an average 2% increase in household waste disposal costs per year.
  • 23 other states use a surcharge to pay for waste programs, Michigan’s surcharge is the lowest in the Great Lakes region.
  • The more people recycle and reduce waste, the less the surcharge will impact them.


Innovation should be aimed at being better stewards of the materials we produce.

 Kerrin O'Brien, MRC Executive Director

Copyright © 2018 Michigan Recycling Coalition, All rights reserved.


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