Community Partnership | Grand Traverse County, MI

Summary

Grand Traverse County residents now have a new way to reduce waste by recycling their clean, empty paper cups and pizza boxes in curbside recycling carts and at local drop-off centers. This expansion offers roughly 40,000 households the opportunity to recycle even more of their everyday take-out packaging. 

To support this program, the county rolled out a public education and outreach campaign supported by a communications grant from FPI. The campaign focused on helping residents recycle correctly and will highlight the full suite of take-out items already accepted in the program, including paper bags, molded fiber containers (like drink carriers), plastic cups and containers, and aluminum trays. Outreach efforts included updated web content, a refreshed recycling flyer, engaging social media posts, video animations, and digital advertising to spread the word throughout the community. 

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More Case Studies

Foodservice Packaging Materials Accepted

Paper cups*
Pizza boxes*
Aluminum foil containers
Paper take-out containers
Paper bags
Molded fiber carriers/take-out containers
Molded fiber egg cartons
PET cups/clamshells/containers
PP cups/tubs/containers/trays

*New items added during partnership