“Who Does What” in the Local Solid Waste Universe

July 9th, 2015

Some recent news coverage on contractual and operational issues at the city of Ann Arbor owned materials recovery facility (MRF) created quite a bit of confusion among elected leaders, local media and citizens about who exactly is providing what solid waste services in Ann Arbor.  We understand the dynamics and structure can be confusing at times, so here’s our attempt at setting the record straight:

Recycle Ann Arbor (RAA) is the local, non-profit, environmental service provider founded in 1977 (and subsidiary of the Ecology Center) that is contracted by the City of Ann Arbor to provide residential and multi-family curbside recycling collection services in Ann Arbor; along with curbside-based business recycling services in the community.*  RAA also operates the ReUse Center at 2420 S. Industrial, the Drop-off Station at 2950 E. Ellsworth Road and the Jackson Road Recovery Yard (formerly Calvert’s) at 7891 Jackson Road. *The City of Ann Arbor currently provides service for all recycling dumpsters and the businesses in the Downtown Development Authority (DDA).

ReCommunity is a for-profit recycling processor that operates the City of Ann Arbor’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) and waste transfer station, under a long-term operating agreement. The Ann Arbor MRF processes not only the recyclables collected from within the City of Ann Arbor, but also materials from the University of Michigan and dozens of other nearby communities. ReCommunity has 32 recycling facilities in 14 states, processing several hundred thousand tons of recyclables each year with over 1,500 permanent employees, and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

We Care Organics is a for-profit compost processor (and organics transportation service) that operates the City of Ann Arbor’s compost site. The Ann Arbor compost site not only processes organic waste (including food waste) generated by Ann Arbor residents and businesses, but also compostables delivered by individuals, local landscapers, the University of Michigan and other communities. We Care is headquartered in Jordan, New York and currently operates a dozen compost facilities in the United States, most on the East Coast. The City of Ann Arbor is the hauler (pick-up) for the curbside compost service currently.

Waste Management, the largest for-profit waste services company in North America, collects commercial (business) dumpster waste in Ann Arbor under a franchise collection contract with the City of Ann Arbor. In addition, its Woodland Meadows Landfill in Canton, Michigan receives all of the non-recyclable/compostable waste processed at the Ann Arbor waste transfer station operated by ReCommunity. Waste Management is a $14 billion/year company with over 42,000 employees headquartered in Houston, Texas.