Features
Green Detroit
By Tom Watts | Photo by Christopher A. Jablonski
Mar 14, 2007, 21:43

The largest urban incinerator in North America is located in Detroit: certainly not new news, yet worth a reminder. But thanks to the efforts of non-profit organizations like Recyclean and RecycleDetroit, the city is slowly coming on board with the rest of the U.S. in efforts to make Motown“Green” again.

Detroit does not recycle, but Matthew Naimi, Director of Operations for Recyclean, said there are people in the city who have a passion for the environment. “Obviously, the more you separate recyclable goods, the more you can put back into manufacturing streams that help provide goods and material locally,” Naimi told Real Detroit. “We’re sending our recyclable stuff to Michigan companies, not just burning trash.”

Naimi is stuck between the perpetual rock and hard place when it comes to criticizing Detroit’s enormous incinerator, which is controlled by the Mayor-appointed Greater Detroit Resources Recovery Authority (GDRRA). “It’s hard for me to criticize the incinerator since they are providing us with the necessary grant to begin a recycling program in the city,” Naimi, 34, said. “Detroit has a high asthma rate. Studies say it’s because of the incinerator:

North America’s largest.  I do not believe in having an incinerator inside an urban area. Coleman Young’s regime started it, but in 2009, the city will be faced with a serious question: should it continue to operate the incinerator or shut it down?”

The GDRRA incinerator (located on the southeast corner of I-75 and I-94) burns waste to produce steam, which is converted to energy. “Detroit has no recycling program, so the incinerator gets all the waste,” Naimi said.

“Recycling is subsidized in the city. Waste hauling is subsidized too, which is paid for by millages and taxes. The City of Detroit has a $190 million budget and we don’t even get 1/10 of that for recycling. Everyone else is 30 years ahead of Detroit in its recycling programs. We need a mix of drop off and curbside recycling to reduce waste. That’s what we’re trying to create.”
In order for Detroit to become a “Green City,” Naimi’s company, Recyclean (located at 1331 Holden at Trumbull, near the New Center) is setting up recycling centers in certain areas: where lofts are being built for example. “So instead of drop-off sites, we can provide bags and pickups for these loft associations.

“Canfield Lofts was our first pickup location every Thursday. Every dorm at Wayne State has it. We set up a route, and it’s multi-ethnic, multi-race, multi-religion. Nobody really argues against recycling and it allows us to go into developments in the city, if they can afford it, and start recycling practices. We work with developers for construction roll-off sites; we recycle material, and have been doing it for years. Sara (Kubik) got me into it.”

Kubik, Executive Director for RecycleDetroit, is a Wayne State University student and proponent of recycling programs in the city. “I have visions of making Detroit ‘Green’ again,” Kubik told Real Detroit. “In the spring of 2005 I met Matt, started attending GDRRA incinerator meetings and began working on a Request For Proposal (RFP) to include recycling in the city budget. I felt all of us came together and now we have the only recycling permit in Detroit. I tried coming to GDRRA with no conflict, no pointing fingers, and they listened. The key is the city needs to network, not reinvent the recycle wheel.”

Kubik, 27, said education on recycling and being responsible for waste “from the barcode to the landfill” is what Detroit citizens need to do if recycling is to be successful in the future. “The city as a whole doesn’t embrace green initiatives,” she said. “When you don’t have a state that embraces it, what’s the city to do?“

Naimi said it is illegal to recycle in Detroit. “It is not legal to provide curbside recycling for residents,” he said. “Part of trash flow plans in Detroit is guaranteeing them material that is put into garbage can in order to burn it.

“It’s a misdemeanor to recycle; it’s against the city ordinance. But the loophole is you can provide drop-off centers.

“We ended up doing research and provided a service for residents of Midtown for one year,” he continued. “The city was operating its own recycling center and nobody knew about it: at Chene and Ferry, a rough area that provided no supervision. The city had no direction. We ended up taking data from Corktown Recycle (once a month at 14th and Michigan Ave.). Recycle Midtown said, ‘Why not let us do this for you?’

“We saw people we could work with. We formed a partnership between Recyclean, RecyleDetroit, Capital Waste (larger waste hauler who has recycle aspect to their operation) and Detroit City Recycling (work with developers to provide amenities), and worked with the City Council. That's when we got together and formed Recycle Here! Starting in June we are going to provide four satellite locations at the four corners of Detroit. We’re located in New Center, and will branch out to Southwest, Northwest, Northeast and Southeast Detroit.

“We received a six-figure grant over 18 months to be used between four partners, labor, staffing, trucking. Our goal is No. 1: To recycle. The future is much brighter. In 10 years, if we have curbside recycling, we’ll do OK. No one entity is doing all the work; work is split up, and that’s cooperation.”

Naimi said there are currently 15 streams of household waste that are recyclable: three types of glass (brown, green, clear), cardboard boxes, office paper, newspaper, shredded paper, magazines (glossy and flyers), books, all household metals, household batteries (no oils), Styrofoam peanuts, the aseptic (milk containers) and grocery bags. “Anything in your fridge I can take, and plastics (No. 1 and 2): every plastic beverage container, laundry detergent — everything has a number,” Naimi said.  “We take most pop bottles, punch bottles, most laundry detergents, more thicker household plastics. Each different commodity goes to a different type of recycler, gets cubed, sent off and made into something by Michigan companies.”

Naimi and Kubik are looking for more motivated volunteers to help spread awareness about recycling in Detroit. As Kubik said, after two decades of not doing anything about recycling efforts, it’s time to step up and make Detroit “Green” again.  | RDW

More info: RecycleDetroit: 313.770.1571 or sarah@recycledetroit.com;
Recyclean: 313.871.4000.

© Copyright by RealDetroitWeekly.com