The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) welcomed 17 early-adopter inaugural partners today for its new NextCycle Michigan initiative, which offers a pathway to develop waste and recycling recovery projects that will grow Michigan’s recycled materials supply chain and end markets.
“Partners are critical to the success and sustainability of NextCycle Michigan,” said Matt Flechter, recycling market development specialist at EGLE. “Recycling and recovery projects right here in the state will drive job creation and industry growth by recovering materials destined for the landfill.”
NextCycle Michigan Partners include trade associations, industry, brands, public sector and non-profit partners that support new recycling and recovery projects, partnerships, collaborative efforts or direct sponsorship of NextCycle Michigan's 2021 Innovation Challenges.
NextCycle Michigan's Inaugural Partners are:
- Carton Council of North America
- Closed Loop Partners
- Emmet County Recycling
- Emterra Environmental USA
- Foodservice Packaging Institute
- Glass Packaging Institute
- Great Lakes Tissue
- Green for Life
- Henry Ford Health System
- Meijer Inc.
- Michigan Economic Development Corporation
- Ice Mountain Spring Water
- Northeast Michigan Council of Governments
- Recycle Ann Arbor
- SEEDS Ecology & Education Centers
- United States Business Council for Sustainable Development
- Washtenaw County
“We are proud to support NextCycle Michigan along with EGLE and other partners,” said Natha Dempsey, president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute. “We see Michigan’s potential to meet demand for recycled content, and attract new innovation in recycling and organic material recovery."
NextCycle Michigan Partners are investing in many ways to achieve their recycling goals through the initiative. These efforts range from capital investments in recycling facilities and collection infrastructure, to innovative data and technology projects that fill critical recycling supply chain gaps as exemplified by Great Lakes Tissue, which uses recycled paper cups and cartons to produce paper tissue and toweling. In another project of note, NextCycle Michigan partner SEEDS Ecology & Education Centers will address the growing need for organic/biodegradable waste recovery throughout the state. The SEEDS endeavor seeks to increase the amount of organic material diverted from landfills to expand raw material available for use in processing or manufacturing products, also known as feedstock.
NextCycle Michigan Partners are committed to closing gaps in the recycling supply chain and building a robust circular economy in Michigan. Find more about the initiative and how to become a partner at nextcyclemichigan.com.
The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy's mission is to protect increase Michigan’s environment and public health by managing air, water, land and energy resources. As part of its award-winning Know It Before You Throw It recycling education campaign, EGLE aims to double Michigan’s recycling rate to 30 percent by 2025, and to ultimately reach 45 percent annually.
The NextCycle Michigan initiative is facilitated by Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) with support from Michigan Recycling Coalition and Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Technological University.
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