Mission Accomplished - Van Buren County Recycling Drop-off Improvements are Complete!
Time to celebrate! We are so thrilled to bring recycling to our communities – with more access, closer to where you are!
It all started in 2023 when the VBCD partnered with seven municipalities in the County. To expand services to our community, we applied for funding from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and The Recycling Partnership. With the VBCD’s Recycling Coordinator Kalli Marshall guiding the group efforts we upgraded transfer stations infrastructure and added recycling services.
$650,000 in upgrades to seven transfer stations across the County in all! These two years paid off and we’re excited for you to experience the difference! All these upgrades provide more to our communities and expand the potential for new services in the future.
Arlington
The Arlington Waste & Recycling Center is a brand-new site coming from this project!
- This new site has a gravel drive, waste disposal, commingled recycling, year-round tire drop-off, and scrap metal.
- With the new commingled recycling; folks are able to recycle paper, cardboard, metal (cans), plastics, scrap metal, and tires.
- Your experience with this site will be easy with new wayfinding and educational signage.
- This site’s attendants will be happy with an insulated, climate-controlled building. Stop by to ask questions and learn about this site!
Bangor
The Bangor Township Recycling & Waste Center looks spectacular with its new renovations!
- A new gravel drive and concrete pads will better folks’ use of this site.
- Work was started by removing the old building on the grounds for health and safety.
- The site updated fencing and added a new gate for one direction traffic.
- A brand new building was added for the site attendant during open hours.
- To complete this project, all new wayfinding and educational signage was added.
- What can be recycled: paper, cardboard, glass, metal (cans), plastics, scrap metal, and tires
Bloomingdale
The Covert Township Waste and Recycling Center project makes recycling in Covert Township more accessible.
- This site’s attendants will be happy with an insulated, climate-controlled building. Stop by to ask questions and learn about this site!
- Renovations also included resurfacing the drive with gravel.
- To complete this project, all new wayfinding and educational signage was added.
- What can be recycled: paper, glass, cardboard, metal (cans), plastics, scrap metal, tires
- In addition to the site renovations, Covert was able to purchase recycling containers for their parks and a truck and trailer to haul the recycling to the transfer station.
Decatur Area: Village of Decatur, Decatur Township, and Hamilton Township
The Decatur Area Waste and Recycling Center underwent a major renovation to open this site year-round for the first time ever.
- Renovations included pouring concrete pads for the recycling containers to sit on, as well as laying asphalt millings to the entire site for drivability.
- The three municipalities added a new attendant building to house a staff member during the open hours.
- A new fence was installed along with cameras for site security.
- To complete this project, all new wayfinding and educational signage was added.
- What can be recycled: paper, glass, cardboard, metal (cans), plastics, scrap metal, and tires.
South Haven & Geneva
The South Haven/Geneva Recycling Center made access so much more efficient and safe for users.
- The driveway was compacted and repaired for easier access to the facility for residents.
- The yard waste and compost area was cleared and better established to allow drop off of brush and lawn waste for residents.
- Paving was completed for the waste and recycling unloading area to allow a cleaner and better accessible drop off area and pads for the recycling containers to be placed.
- Finally, a storage building was erected for future use to collect hard to recycle items.
- What can be recycled and disposed: paper, cardboard, glass, metal (cans), plastics, scrap metal, and yard waste.
Paw Paw
The waste and recycling center in Paw Paw underwent a major renovation to make your experience on site seamless.
- Site work included pouring concrete pads for the recycling containers to sit on, as well as applying asphalt to the entire drive.
- The township updated all of the buildings on site with new siding and roofing.
- Additionally, a new building was added to house an attendant to help with recycling cost recovery.
- A new fence was installed along with cameras for site security.
- To complete this project, all new wayfinding and educational signage was added.
- What can be recycled: paper, cardboard, glass, metal (cans), plastics, scrap metal, concrete, and tires.
The communities worked very hard to make these projects come to life in order to increase recycling access for you. We hope you stop out to the sites to see the improvements and drop-off your recycling in style!
Kalli Marshall
Materials Management Project Manager
