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Kalamazoo City staff outlines recycling and cleanup events, textile pilot and composting pilot
Summary
Justin, city sustainability staff, summarized recent outreach — a recycling demonstration at the Creamery, invasive species and riverbank cleanup (March 28), a plug-style downtown pickup (April 11), an April 25 electronics/textile recycling drop-off, a May 16 'Buzz in the Zoo' event with Audubon, and a June 9 scrap-tire drop-off; committee members were told composting pilot updates will be discussed at a county materials-management meeting.
Justin, identified in the meeting as city staff representing Kalamazoo City, briefed the committee on recent and upcoming sustainability outreach and service events.
What Justin reported: the city ran a recycling demonstration at the Creamery where recycling containers were distributed and residents were encouraged to improve apartment recycling rates; the city partnered with Michigan Waterway Stewards for invasive-species removal and trash cleanup along the Kalamazoo River on March 28 (from Mayor's Riverfront Park to the golf course); and on April 11 the city hosted a plug-style event on the city hall steps that drew about 20 participants who jogged a trash-collection route downtown.
Upcoming events Justin listed include an April 25 recycling drop-off at Mayor's Riverfront Park (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) accepting EPS foam, electronics, certain dental-care materials, water filters, electronics and shredding, with a pilot accepting textiles to be repurposed by Western Michigan University fashion-design students; "Buzz in the Zoo" on May 16 in partnership with the Audubon Society for migratory bird-day activities; and a June 9 scrap-tire drop-off (1 p.m. to 7 p.m.; registration required). Justin said event details and registration are posted on the city's curbside information pages.
Follow-ups and related items: committee members asked whether quantities (weight/yardage) were measured for invasive-species removals; Justin said not for the most recent event and that last year's results were informal guesstimates. During commissioner comments a member noted the county is developing a materials-management plan and that Chris Broadband will speak on the city's composting pilot at a May meeting; Justin confirmed the composting pilot has been active about a year and that small countertop compost containers have been distributed at some city sustainability events.
Why it matters: these programs are part of the city's outreach to reduce waste and expand recycling/composting access; the textile pilot and the county materials-management plan could affect how diverted materials are processed or reused.
