Where Does My Kent County Recycling Go?

Grand Rapids has invested in a greener future if we all play the

recycling game. The new $10 million facility has been built on an

old brown field site (former west side Stamping Plant).  The profits

of selling recyclables will payback borrowed bonds ahead of the

projected time frame.

Located at 977 Wealthy Street SW in Grand Rapids, MI

Let’s look at some statistics and see if recycling is worthwhile:

• 9130 tons of glass
• 7749 tons of ferrous metal cans
• 225 tons of aluminum
• 12,334 tons of corrugated cardboard
• 3,851 tons of magazines
• 140,182 tons of newspaper
• 10,836 tons of mixed plastics

Since 1993, Kent County has recycled the above totals.

This is equivalent to conserving:

31,595 household’s annual energy consumption

584,281 barrels of oil

27,266,461 gallons of gasoline

One of the best things about Kent County Recycling is no more sorting!

The new facility  does all sorting on site, so One Container at the curb

holds all recyclables.  The new facility has the capacity to run 3 shifts

a day and has a waiting list for their recyclables.  If they had more

products to recycle, they have a robust resale market that wants them.

This is just good stewardship and makes sense to keep all those reusable

items out of our landfills.

Most work at the Kent County Recycling is done by community service,

so there is minimal labor costs.

The New Kent County Recycling Plant:

Processes 18 tons per hour (4-6 tons per hour at the old facility)

Process recyclables 6 hours per day (13 hours per day at the old facility)

Process 108 tons of recyclables per day (40 tons per day at the old facility)

The new facility features a 5,000 square foot education area that

offers two public meeting and classroom areas and a 125-foot long

viewing platform to allow safe overhead viewing of the machinery

processing recyclables.

Kent County Recycling & Education Center in Grand Rapids

is a very successful enterprise. But it could be much more successful

if we all contributed. Do you recycle?

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate, the

Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West Michigan.

Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing metropolitan area with a

diverse business community, great medical research & services, numerous

universities, plus lively arts and entertainment of all kinds.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry   616-292-7263

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