2018 has been a big year for recycling in Berrien County. Berrien County Environmental Property Manager Jill Adams tells WSJM News six major recycling events were held, allowing people come and drop off a variety of items.
“The main county community recycling events for things like household chemicals, home medical waste, electronics, tires, pesticides — those kind of hard to handle items — those all saw an increase in participation and materials collected over the previous year,” Adams said.
Adams says the household chemical collections were up 16%, while the spring tire collection netted 5,800 tires over two days, up 58% from last year. The pesticide collections were also up by 58%. Adams tells us a new summer-wide recycling effort at Silver Beach was also a success.
“In 2018 we diverted 27% of the waste generated at Silver Beach to a recycling stream,” Adams said. “We’re pretty proud of that number.”
The county uses landfill fee money to fund some of the recycling events. Adams says the increased numbers are partly the result of a recycling guide the county printed and distributed this year. Her office is already planning for next year. You can find out more about Berrien County’s recycling program right here.
