Emmet County Recycling

What Emmet County Recycling does

Emmet County Recycling is the operating name of the Emmet County Department of Public Works, a Michigan county-government entity established in 1979 and headquartered in Harbor Springs. It runs a county-wide waste management and recycling system serving Emmet County residents, commercial accounts, schools, and event organizers, and it processes recyclables on contract for three neighboring counties (Cheboygan, Otsego, Presque Isle). The portfolio centers on a dual-stream Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) that separates 'Paper, Boxes and Bags' from 'Mixed Containers' (steel, glass, plastic, cartons, aluminum), supported by AMP Robotics vision-guided sorters and robotic glass-crushing hammers deployed since 2020. Services include 12 drop-off recycling sites, curbside collection in four townships and three cities, the Pleasantview Road Drop-off Center (which also serves as the Transfer Station, composting site, and household hazardous waste facility), commercial food scrap collection (39 businesses, 600,000+ lbs annually), event recycling (25+ events per year), and document shredding.

The business model is a hybrid of user-fee revenue and commodity sales. It is funded by tipping fees at the Transfer Station, unit-pricing for disposal items (mattresses, motor oil, rubble, bulbs, antifreeze), contracted processing fees from partner counties and municipalities, commercial recycling and food scrap accounts, and the sale of recyclables — which surpassed $1,000,000 in 2021 — plus compost and mulch sales. The operation has not relied on county tax dollars since 1991, sustained instead by the County Solid Waste Ordinance (Ordinance 11-04), which mandates haulers to use the County Transfer Station and was upheld by a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. In 2023 the program processed 12,173 tons, achieved a 40%+ waste diversion rate (versus a 25% Michigan statewide average), and reached 80%+ household participation, with 95% of materials remaining in Michigan and supporting roughly 23 downstream factories.

Name

Emmet County Recycling

Legal name

Emmet County Department of Public Works

Website

https://emmetrecycling.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Emmet County Recycling is the recycling and solid waste division of Emmet County, Michigan government. It operates a dual-stream MRF, 12 drop-off sites, curbside collection, commercial food-scrap service, and a transfer station serving residents, businesses, and three neighboring counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Solid Waste and Recycling Services

NAICS

Waste Collection (56211), Solid Waste Collection (562111), Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Hazardous Waste Collection (562112)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950), Hazardous Waste Management (4955)

akta.pro primary industry

Municipal Solid Waste Collection (Residential/Commercial) (IMAIAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Curbside MSW Collection (BPALAAAA), Multi-Family / HOA MSW Collection (Apartments, Condos) (EUAIAAAJ), Recycling & E-Waste Collection/Hauling (HSAKALAJ), Eco-Friendly Disposal, Recycling & Donation Hauling (HSAIAOAJ)

Keywords

• Recycling services
• Waste management
• Curbside collection
• Materials recovery
• Composting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Harbor Springs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Sale of Recyclables: The DPW operates its own dual stream materials recovery facility, markets the recyclables collected, and receives the resulting revenues. Income from the sale of recyclables covers a substantial portion of the operating costs for recycling collection and processing. 95% of materials collected stay in Michigan, with the remaining 5% going to Illinois, Ontario, and Virginia.
2. Transfer Station Tipping Fees: Transfer Station revenues help bridge any funding gaps to operate the County's 12 recycling drop sites and the MRF. The County's Transfer Station rates are consistently among the lowest in the region.
3. Contracted Services: Processing fees from partner counties (Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Otsego) who pay Emmet County to process their recyclables. Contracts with six municipalities to provide curbside collection of recyclables for their residents.
4. Compost Sales: Sale of finished compost from the Emmet County Compost Center, made from food scraps and yard waste. Compost can be purchased at the Pleasantview Drop Off Center in Harbor Springs by the bag or by the load.
5. Disposal and Processing Fees: Fees for various materials including antifreeze ($1.50/gl), motor oil ($1.50/gl), mattresses ($20-26), rubble ($16/cubic yard), electronics ($0.25/lb), and light bulbs ($0.50-$0.80 each depending on size).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Emmet County Recycling operates a county-owned solid waste and recycling system for Emmet County, Michigan, providing residential curbside collection, a network of 12 drop-off recycling sites, a central Transfer Station and Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), commercial food scrap collection, event recycling services, and composting operations. Materials are sorted via a dual-stream system supported by AMP Robotics sortation, then marketed to Michigan manufacturers and end-buyers.

Product overview

Emmet County Recycling operates a comprehensive waste management and recycling system as a department of Emmet County's Department of Public Works. The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected services centered on dual-stream recycling, with core offerings including 12 recycling drop-off sites, curbside recycling collection, and the Pleasantview Road Drop-off Center as a central hub processing over 60 materials. Commercial services include food scrap collection, business recycling programs, school recycling, and event recycling services. The organization runs a composting operation producing and selling finished compost and mulch. The dual-stream recycling system separates materials into 'Paper, Boxes and Bags' and 'Mixed Containers' streams. Educational offerings, document shredding, and household hazardous waste drop-off round out the service portfolio. The system serves over 80% of Emmet County households and processes approximately 12,173 tons of materials annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recycling Drop-off Sites Network of 12 county-wide drop-off locations where residents deposit recyclable paper/boxes/bags and mixed containers (steel, glass, plastic, cartons, aluminum) for processing at the MRF.
• Curbside Recycling Service Weekly curbside collection of dual-stream recyclables from households in participating Emmet County townships and municipalities using green-lidded rolling carts for paper, boxes, and bags.
• Pleasantview Road Drop-off Center Central county facility at 7363 S Pleasantview Road, Harbor Springs that combines the Transfer Station, MRF, composting site, bulky recyclables area, and household hazardous waste drop-off, accepting 60+ materials from residents and businesses.
• Waste Disposal (Transfer Station) Transfer station services for garbage disposal at unit-priced rates designed to incentivize recycling over landfilling; consistently among the lowest tipping fees in the region.
• Household Chemical Drop-Off (Household Hazardous Waste) Safe disposal of household hazardous waste including paints, chemicals, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, antifreeze, motor oil, and latex paint via partnerships with Heritage Crystal Clean, CleanLites, Cirba Solutions, and ePaint Recycling.
• Document Shredding Secure document destruction service offered by appointment at the Pleasantview facility for residents and businesses.
• Commercial Recycling Program Business recycling accounts program for restaurants, hotels, offices, schools, retail, and other commercial entities, including waste assessments and customized recycling solutions managed through the Market Development team.
• Commercial Food Scrap Collection Scheduled collection of food scraps and floral waste from 39+ commercial accounts in Emmet County for composting at the Emmet County Compost Center.
• School Recycling Recycling and food scrap collection programs for K-12 schools and colleges, including collection service and curriculum-integrated educational tours (e.g., annual Emmet County 4th-grade tours reaching 300+ students).
• Event Recycling Services Zero-waste event services providing recycling and composting stations, blue Clearstreams for bottle/can collection, and Give All Food A Future carts at community events and festivals.
• Apartment & Condo Community Recycling Centralized recycling solutions for multi-family housing complexes and condominiums that may not have individual curbside service, including community carts.
• Services for Other Counties Contracted processing, marketing, and curbside collection services provided to neighboring counties (Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Otsego) and partner municipalities, with revenue from processing fees.
• Compost Finished compost produced at the Emmet County Compost Center from food scraps and yard waste, available for purchase at the Pleasantview Drop Off Center by the bag or by the load.
• Mulch and Woodchips Mulch and woodchips produced from processed brush, logs, and pallets, available for purchase at the Pleasantview Drop Off Center.
• Composting Bins Backyard composting bins sold on-site at the Pleasantview facility to support home composting by residents.
• Resort Township Business Recycling Recycling program tailored for businesses operating within Resort Township, including collection service and account coordination through the Market Development team.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40% of Emmet County's waste stream recovered (vs. 25% statewide average)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Recycle ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerToledo-area recycler working with Emmet County on glass recycling. Recycle Services handles transportation of Emmet County glass to Ohio for cleaning and processing into fiberglass feedstock for Michigan manufacturers. The company is building a 'hub and spoke' model with Emmet County serving as the hub for northern Michigan glass recycling. Sees Emmet County as gateway to rest of northern Michigan's glass.
• Bay Area Recycling for Community (BARC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with BARC out of Kaleva and Traverse City to recycle mattresses. BARC separates each material in mattresses and sells commodities to be made into new products. Cost to recycle for residents is $20-26 per mattress or box spring, whereas landfilling each would cost $29-38.
• Heritage Crystal CleancoreTechnology or IntegrationAntifreeze recycling partner. Contact for larger quantities (over 20 gallons of antifreeze or 40 gallons of motor oil) at 877-938-7948.
• AMP RoboticscoreTechnology or IntegrationRobotics company providing sorting equipment for containers sort line upgrade. Part of $800,000 grant from EGLE and up to $1,000,000 loan from Closed Loop Partners for facility improvements.
• MachinexcoreTechnology or IntegrationEquipment supplier for sort line upgrade as part of the containers sort line improvement project awarded under the EGLE grant.
• Cheboygan County, Otsego County, Presque Isle CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNeighboring counties contracted with Emmet County Recycling Center to process and market their materials. These counties have millages or fees to fund recycling for their citizens and pay Emmet County to process their recyclables.
• Green For Life Environmental (GFL)minorOthersTraverse City-based waste management company. Most glass from northern Michigan currently goes to GFL landfills for road construction. ECR is working to divert glass to Recycle Services instead.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCTUNCsltiaPGMi3WecQhHHQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/emmet-county-recycling-dpw

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Emmet County Recycling