The聽Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) joined local and state partners in Marquette to announce the Upper Peninsula recipients receiving a shared $1.4 million in Fiscal Year聽(FY)聽2026 Recycling Infrastructure Grants. The announcement聽demonstrates聽how state investments are helping communities improve recycling, recover valuable materials,聽and prevent contaminants from reaching Michigan’s waterways.
“Every Michigander depends on clean water and healthy communities,” said聽EGLE Director Phillip聽Roos.聽“The investments highlighted today are helping communities recycle more, reduce pollution,聽and stop contaminants before they reach our waterways. By partnering with local communities and investing in innovative technology, we’re protecting the resources people rely on every day while building a stronger, more resilient Michigan.”
Upper Peninsula communities receiving FY聽2026 Recycling Infrastructure Grants聽are:
- Marquette County Solid 豆包成人版 Management Authority聽(MCSWMA): $143,000 to聽purchase聽a聽curbtender聽truck to聽self-haul聽recyclables from businesses and multifamily dwellings.
- Cities of Iron Mountain and Kingsford: $299,000 to聽purchase聽curbside carts and implement聽community-wide聽recycling.
- City of Ishpeming: $117,000 to聽purchase聽curbside carts.
- Western聽Upper Peninsula聽Planning Development Region: $825,000 to聽assist聽with聽drop-off site improvement and expansion.
- TRICO Opportunities Inc. of Kingsford: $30,000 to聽purchase聽a straight truck that will improve recyclable materials collection.
“This grant is very much appreciated and will allow MCSWMA to better serve its customers for years to come,” said Paul Schloegel, commissioner for the city of Marquette. “Recycling is critical to extending the life of our landfill and what’s best for our environment. Currently, the residents of Marquette County are not doing enough recycling. We need to continue to educate our neighbors about best practices and encourage them to use curbside service. Having the latest technology and equipment will certainly have a positive impact on our service as we continue to grow our recycling practices.”
鈥淲e are excited to see more dollars coming to the upper peninsula to support increased technology in recycling efforts,鈥� said Michigan Sen.聽Ed聽McBroom.聽鈥淭his funding supports and showcases the collaborative, community-driven efforts we see in this part of the state.鈥�
Following the announcement, Director Roos聽toured the聽MCSWMA鈥檚聽Material Recovery Facility, which processes recyclable materials from across Marquette County using single-stream recycling technology capable of sorting approximately 600 tons of recyclable material each month. The facility聽uses聽a聽SamurAI聽robotic sorting system that helps recover recyclable materials more efficiently by using artificial intelligence and a robotic arm to聽identify聽and sort recyclable聽items at聽speeds of up to 70 picks per minute,聽nearly twice聽the rate聽of manual sorting. The technology helps improve recovery rates,聽maintains聽efficient operations聽during periods of high volume,聽and allows staff to focus on聽additional聽material processing,聽strengthening recycling efforts.
EGLE supported the facility’s transition to single-stream recycling through an聽$800,000 Recycling Infrastructure Grant聽in 2019, helping the聽MCSWMA聽to improve recycling operations and better serve Upper Peninsula communities.