Recycling Quality Improvement Grant Program

The Recycling Quality Improvement Grant Program is a collaborative effort between the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and The Recycling Partnership to drastically reduce contamination and improve the capture of high-quality recyclable materials across Michigan communities. Supported through the Renew Michigan Fund, the program seeks to support municipal and regional recycling efforts and foster environmental sustainability and circular economy practices.

Eligible applicants include local units of government such as cities, townships, villages, counties, and regional solid waste or resource recovery authorities operating residential curbside collection or drop-off recycling programs. Grantees are selected based on demonstrated need, readiness to deploy community-wide education, and alignment with program priorities.

Eligible project activities include executing targeted operational and educational interventions to decrease recycling contamination. Curbside communities deploy the Feet on the Street cart-tagging protocol to provide direct, personalized feedback to households, while drop-off communities implement site-specific contamination and illegal dumping reduction measures, both supported by Michigan's 'Know It Before You Throw It' recycling education campaign.

Applications must be submitted in response to published Requests for Proposals (RFPs). Proposals are reviewed by EGLE and The Recycling Partnership against criteria including project feasibility, community reach, operational capacity, and anticipated impact on recycling stream quality.