Recycling for Newaygo County
“…enhancing the environment and beauty of Newaygo County.”
Printed on recycled paper.
Written and edited by Jessica DeKryger, Executive Director .
Issue 35- Summer 2013
From the Director’s desk……………
Summer is here! I hope you are all enjoying the warm weather and have had the opportunity to
spend time with your family and friends. Recycling for Newaygo County has been busy as ever. The
summer months prove to be our busiest season of the year. You may be noticing that our sites are busier
than ever and the trailers are filling up quickly. All or our trailers are on a weekly schedule and do not go
more than seven days before they are emptied. If you visit a site and the trailers are full, chances are that
the trailers will be pulled that day. They typically reach max capacity by day 6 or 7 of each week. If you
have a large quantity of recyclables or are bringing materials from a small business, please help us out
and bring these items directly to our Fremont Collection Center. Our trailers are designed for residential
use, and cannot accommodate large quantities of material. Please be courteous of your fellow recyclers
and do not leave large bags of materials at the sites. If you go to a site and notice that trash or large
items have been dropped off, please contact us. We will clean the site as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, we cannot monitor each site on a daily basis.
Our board of directors is continuing to work diligently on increasing the number of memberships in
our “Friends of Recycling” support group. $20,000 dollars of our yearly grant from the Fremont Area
Community Foundation comes directly as a match to our “Friends of Recycling” membership fees.
Currently, we have received $15,310 of our $20,000 match. Thank you to those that have renewed your
memberships. We need your support more than ever. Please urge your family and friends to become
members of our “Friends of Recycling” support group. All membership fees help with the cost associated
with processing your recyclables. Keep in mind that there is certainly value in many recyclables;
however, the cost to process the materials often outweighs any return value.
Thank you to those who attended our annual meeting. We had great weather, and were able to
complete an outside tour of our processing facility. Jeff Depew, from Grand Rapids Iron and Metal,
attended as a speaker as well. He provided valuable information on the life cycle of our recyclables.
Awards were presented to the following businesses for their outstanding support: Brookside Discount
Grocery and Werth Development. Sarah Pregitzer was also recognized for her service on our board of
directors. Our annual election of board members was held, and we welcomed a new member, Jean
Teets. Jean Teets has been an active recycler for many years and will be an asset to our board.
Recycling commodity prices have continued to have a negative impact on our sales. Year to date
we are approximately 25,000 down in sales. To help make up this difference, we have made many cuts
in our budget and are working on increasing our membership base and site support from local
organizations and businesses. We will be holding mini- membership drives at our sites periodically
throughout the summer. These dates will be posted on our Facebook page and website. Please contact
us if you would like to help out at these events. We will also have an informational booth available during
the Newaygo County Agricultural Fair August 5th- 9th. Please stop by for valuable information on
recycling.
Thank you for your support! Enjoy the rest of your summer!
-Jessica DeKryger- director
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Recycling Glass Update
We have continued our discussion at the board level about accepting glass for recycling, and
our board has since decided to limit glass recycling to the Fremont Center only in order to reduce the
volume collected. We are continuing to struggle to find local outlets for the quantity of glass that we
collect. For now, we will be accepting glass at the Fremont Center only. Glass collected here will be
transported to the NCRESA Enterprise Program. There will be one container each for clear and
colored glass. This may only be a temporary measure. The NCRESA Enterprise Program will also
continue to collect glass free of charge. They have bins available 24/7 to drop off glass. Their building
is located at the following address: 465 Clay Ave, Newaygo.
Facebook…..Twitter
Thanks to Alysa Passage, with Passage Hill Studio , for boosting our Facebook page with new
cover photos and applications. She has done a wonderful job. We now have our recycling guide and
membership information available with the click of your mouse. We will continue to update both our
website and Facebook page with new photos and upcoming events. Please take the time and “Like”
us on Facebook. Feel free to post any questions or neat information as well. My hopes are that this
page will turn into a valuable resource for the residents of Newaygo County.
Also, we have officially joined Twitter. Feel free to follow us on Twitter to learn more recycling
and upcoming recycling events.
Recycling ….Durable vs. Non-Durable Goods
As Americans we tend to buy an enormous amount of products. Some of these products will
last for a very long time, while others are consumed on the spot. These products are typically called
durable and nondurable goods. Durable goods include items like furniture, large appliances, and cars.
These items usually have a lifespan of over three years. Our consumables, “nondurable goods”,
usually have a short shelf life and include items such as food, household cleaners, and clothing. All
of the items that we recycle here are RNC are considered nondurable goods. From plastic water
bottles to steel cans, these items were only used one time. Some durable goods such as large
appliances and old cars can also be recycled because they are made from steel. Unfortunately, many
of these other durable goods such as furniture may find their way to the landfill because they are no
longer in style or possibly damaged. Like the saying “they don’t make em’ like they used to”, this is
completely true with many of our furniture items. Many of the furniture pieces on the market are now
made cheaply with particle board and veneer finishes. Perhaps we need to take a look at recycling
some of our durable goods as well as our nondurables. I have “up cycled” many of the items in my
own home, and have found great cost savings by shopping auctions and yard sales. Many furniture
pieces can take on a whole new look with a simple can of spray paint. If you have an old furniture
item and don’t wish to throw it away, search online for new ways to refurbish and up cycle your item.
Pinterest is a great resource to find ideas. The following pieces are from my own home:
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Antique trunk…taking on a new life as an end table.
Antique phonograph…taking on new life as a storage cabinet.
“Saved a table from the landfill
with a bottle of spray paint”
“Up cycled with new knobs”
“Covered crib quilt with new material”
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Did you know?
1. Buying Recycled Products – Recycled products are made from products that would otherwise
end up in a landfill or incinerator. Buying recycled products also has great benefits such as job
creation and new market development. Some of the items you already purchase may be
made of some recycled material. Look for “post-consumer recycled content” on the label. Ask
your local store supervisor if they have alternative products made with recycled content.
2. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality–The MDEQ has many recycling resources
available on their website. Contact information is available for 26 counties within the state of
Michigan. There is also valuable information on recycling outlets for household hazardous
waste. Please see their website for additional information: www.michigan.gov/deq
News You Can Use . . .
1. Newaygo County Agricultural Fair – The fair runs from August 3-10. RNC will have an
informational booth available at the fairgrounds on August 5-9. We will also have recycling
containers on site during the week of fair. Please recycle your water bottles and beverage
containers rather than throwing them in the trash. Please let us know if you would like to volunteer
during this event.
2. Electronics – We are currently using Universal Recycling Technologies to recycle our
electronic waste. We receive 5 cents per pound for all consumer electronics including:
computers, tablets, etc. PLEASE BRING US YOUR OLD COMPUTERS for recycling. We
greatly appreciate it!
Volunteers & Thanks
Thank you to those that helped out during the local township cleanup days and electronic
drives. Your help has ensured that Newaygo County will continue to remain a beautiful place to live.
We are still continuing to look for volunteers or groups to help monitor and clean our drop-off sites.
We check our sites weekly; however, it seems as if our sites can easily fill up with litter. Please
consider picking up after one another while visiting the sites to drop-off your recycling. If you would
like to help out with monitoring a site please call our office at 924-5822.
Collection Report: 2013 YTD
In 2005, our first year of operation, we collected 105 tons of materials. In 2012 we collected 1249 tons. More people are
recycling more materials every year!
Material Shipped
Paper (newspaper mags/junk
mail, and cardboard )
Plastics
(#3-7 plastics are collected and
shipped but have no value.)
Weight
433 tons
Revenue: 2013
$28,612.99
62 tons
$7,244.12
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Glass
Metal – tin cans and aluminum
66.5 tons
26 tons
none
$1297.14
Polystyrene (Styrofoam)
Batteries & Electronics
Totals for 2013 YTD
5 tons
11.5 tons
604 tons
none
none
$37,154.25
RECYCLING SAVINGS SINCE DAY ONE: DECEMBER 6, 2004
Paper – 5244 tons of paper, saving 85,561 trees and 35 million gallons of water.
Plastic - 715 tons of plastics, saving over 2869 barrels of oil.
Glass - 678 tons of glass, saving over 758 tons of sand, soda ash and limestone.
Metal - 424 tons of metal - saving over 813 tons of iron ore, coal and limestone.
Misc. – Batteries & Electronics & Polystyrene – 142 tons
TOTAL WASTE KEPT OUT OF THE LANDFILL: 7203
TONS!
RNC Board of Directors & Monthly Board Meetings
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RNC regular board meetings are held the third Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm.
Meetings are held at the Newaygo County MSU Extension Office in Fremont on Stewart
Avenue at the County Fairgrounds. Our next meeting will be August 15, 2013.
The public is welcome to attend any of our monthly meetings. If you have any questions
or would like to learn more about our program, you are welcome to attend
Note: If you would like to change how you receive this newsletter, e.g., from mail to
electronic email or vice versa, please let us know and we will make the change.
Send your questions, comments, and suggestions to me, Jessica DeKryger, at
[email protected] or 924-5822.
Current Board of Directors: Rod Kroll (President), Kathy Morrison (Vice President), Linda
Blais (Treasurer), Dave White (Secretary), Maryann Tazelaar, Bill Bowen, Marcia Dougan,
Ailene Pugno, and Jean Teets
Office Address: 817 S. Stewart Ave., Fremont
Phone: 924-5822
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.recyclingfornewaygocounty.org
Director: Jessica DeKryger
Fremont Center: 113 E. Cherry St.
Monday 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Wednesday 4:00 -6:00 pm
Thursday 4:00 – 7:00 pm
Saturday 8:00 am – 1:00 pm
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