Michigan has new, sweeping policy to revamp its solid waste management system, following a seven-year push for change. March 29, 2023, an eight-bill package becomes law that’s intended to help bump the state’s 19 percent recycling rate (among the lowest in the nation) to 30 percent by 2029.
Some of the package’s language makes minor tweaks to existing policy around landfill management. But some of the bills, especially HB4460 and HB4461, are anticipated to catalyze real movement along the path toward diversion, says Liz Browne, director of the Materials Management division, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).