Community Highlight: Revolutionizing Detroit’s Recycling with Green Living Science

In the heart of Detroit, a dedicated initiative is quietly transforming the recycling landscape, focusing particularly on multi-family housing units. Spearheaded by Green Living Science (GLS) in partnership with the City of Detroit, this project aims to revolutionize how residents in apartment complexes and similar buildings engage with recycling programs. The ES team chatted with Natalie Jakub, the Executive Director at GLS, to discuss the initiative and its importance to a greener and cleaner Detroit.

Thinking Bigger with Education & Engagement

Established in 2007 and originating from “Recycle Here!” Detroit’s drop-off recycling center and neighborhood program, Green Living Science responded to Detroit Public Schools’ call for recycling education. Initially offering school assemblies and in-class lessons, GLS has since broadened its scope to include businesses and community outreach, educating Detroiters on the impact of waste.

Now, the GLS team is on a mission to broaden participation in recycling and waste reduction across multi-family housing in Detroit, which is driven by necessity and community demand. “There are a lot of people interested in recycling, but larger buildings have challenges. We’ve been working on getting in front of the right people and building excitement about these programs,” explains Jakub. “Part of the project involves a study on understanding how best to support multi-family housing facilities and provide them with the resources they need, including education.”

This ambitious endeavor has been made possible, partly thanks to a grant from EGLE and collaboration with the City of Detroit. It builds upon the success of Green Living Science’s BEE Green Business Program, launched in 2014 to help local businesses adopt effective waste reduction and recycling practices (Fun Fact: Energy Sciences is certified!). “There are a lot of people that want to recycle; they just don’t know where to start, or they’re recycling really well, and they just don’t know how they can continue to reduce waste,” Jakub notes. “So, the BEE Green Program has led us in many directions, including our current focus on expanding the city’s new commercial recycling route.”

With support from the EGLE grant and GLS expertise, Detroit’s commercial recycling efforts now include two trucks and established programs at businesses, most municipal buildings, numerous parks, and all recreation centers citywide. The next step is expanding these initiatives into multi-family housing complexes. Jakub and her team are exploring various avenues to achieve this, including providing free education. This education can manifest in different forms, from on-site consultations to assessing recycling needs to distributing free educational materials.

Overcoming Challenges, Inspiring Change

Taking on a project of this magnitude isn’t without its challenges; Jakub states that multi-family housing units are often overlooked in municipal recycling programs: “When we think about waste in Detroit and where it mostly comes from, there’s a lot of industry. There’s a lot of business. But we know there’s a large amount of people who live in apartment buildings—even downtown or throughout the city. So, we want to make sure they’re not forgotten. We live in a city of 600,000 plus people, and we have about 220,000 single-family homes, so we’re already tackling that with our curbside recycling program, and this is just going to add to that.”

Despite significant interest from residents, one of the leading challenges is the diverse set of stakeholders involved—property owners, tenants, and building management—each with their own priorities and concerns. Jakub’s solution to overcoming these challenges? Education, of course: “We educate the staff because we think it’s important for leadership to set the example, and we also provide education to any custodians —anyone who is moving material from point A to point B.” The educational efforts extend beyond participation encouragement; they aim to foster a cultural shift toward sustainability within these communities. Many multi-family housing units in Detroit are not equipped for recycling, often mixing recyclables with regular trash due to outdated infrastructure: “We’re learning that most of these buildings are not set up for a dual stream of anything. They are set up for trash, and that’s it. So, in most facilities, if you see two chutes, there’s a big possibility that they’re just going to the same container, and that’s not recycling. We have debunked that no one is sorting your trash from your recycling.”

In addressing this, GLS offers tailored solutions to retrofit existing setups and streamline recycling processes in a simple way so that there is a ‘legacy’ of recycling practices that can be used in the future: “We’re a non-profit,” says Jakub, “We’re acting as consultants because we know this is how we’re going to achieve our mission. We’re not trying to get money from people; we put a lot of energy into making things simple and streamlined so that it’s sustainable. We want to set up a system that is simple and easy and can continue for years to come.”

The primary hurdle that stands out when implementing recycling programs is the cost involved. Like many public services, municipal recycling initiatives carry a substantial price tag. Some perceive this cost as pricey, especially when contrasted with traditional waste management methods. Jakub points out, ” The city recycling program is pretty affordable, considering what other commercial haulers charge. But no matter what it costs, even if it’s a dollar, you have to convince someone why it’s worth it.”

Natalie firmly believes that education leads to investing in recycling, which will lead to significant long-term benefits that outweigh initial expenses. While these programs may be competitively priced compared to private waste haulers, convincing stakeholders—whether residents or building managers—requires demonstrating concrete advantages. This could involve illustrating potential cost savings through reduced landfill waste, emphasizing the positive environmental impact of recycling on public health and local ecosystems, or simply sharing information: “That’s why we do our educational services. We’ll sit at a table in a lobby all day and talk to anyone who comes through and put educational materials on everyone’s doors. We’re offering a very customized approach to our education because we know that not everyone living in the building is going to need the same thing.”

Milestones & Momentum in Multi-Family Recycling

While the initiative is still in its early stages and faces obstacles in recruiting multi-family buildings, it has already achieved significant milestones in understanding these communities’ needs and challenges. When the program started, the participation rate was 4%, and the goal was to reach 50%. But, to Natalie Jakub, success is measured not just in the number of participants but also in the insights gained to refine and scale the program effectively: “It’s about how this program should function now and how it can appeal to more people later.” The initiative plans to leverage these insights to propose policy changes and infrastructure improvements to the city. For instance, advocating for more versatile recycling trucks that can accommodate the unique needs of multi-family housing units, such as front-loading dumpsters.

However, community involvement might be the most crucial to the initiative’s success. Volunteers play a pivotal role in canvassing efforts to promote recycling awareness and sign up residents for recycling programs. Corporate partnerships and individual volunteers contribute not only their time but also diverse skill sets that enrich the initiative’s outreach efforts. If you think you can’t make a difference – think again! “We are happy to customize if anyone’s just like, ‘Hey, I really want to volunteer, but I don’t know how!’ We can talk about someone’s interest and see what might be a good fit!”

Green Living Science has ignited a revolution in recycling, starting from its roots in education and expanding to transform the city’s approach to waste management, pioneering initiatives that educate and empower residents to embrace sustainable practices. As GLS continues to navigate and expand its reach into multi-family housing, they remain committed to their mission to build a cleaner Detroit for future generations. With each milestone achieved and every obstacle overcome, GLS sets a shining example of how grassroots efforts and community engagement can create lasting positive change.

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