Coming in 2024: Free recycling and trash carts for all Flint households

Flint City Council approves Priority Waste rate-freeze and contract extension through 2028, ensuring City of Flint can implement new carted waste collection system

The Flint City Council voted on and passed the Priority Waste contract extension in the early hours of Tuesday, Nov. 14. This ensures that the City of Flint will have a waste hauler in place to implement a state-of-the-art recycling initiative in 2024.

The City can now move forward with procuring grant-funded recycling and trash carts for all residential households, at no increased cost to Flint residents.

“I am pleased that under its new leadership, the Flint City Council was able to advance this long-delayed initiative, and the City of Flint can now move forward to enhance and stabilize trash and recycling collection services for Flint residents,” Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley said. “I want to thank our waste services staff who continue to work diligently to ensure that Flint residents will receive the same high level of service that many of our neighboring communities already enjoy.”

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has granted $1 million and the national nonprofit The Recycling Partnership has granted $3,392,000 million to the City of Flint to support this initiative.

In addition, The Recycling Partnership has secured a donation of a high-quality resin from Dow Chemical, valued at $900,000, that will be used to manufacture Flint’s trash and recycling carts. This unprecedented cost savings allows Flint residents to receive both recycling and trash carts free of charge. These carts will be owned by the City of Flint and carry a 10-year warranty.

To implement this project, the City of Flint must now issue a request for proposals for cart manufacturing, complete the bid process, and submit a management plan to The Recycling Partnership by Nov. 30, 2023. The City will seek a manufacturer who can also distribute the carts to Flint households. The trash and recycling carts could take 6-8 months to manufacture.

The Recycling Partnership grant includes funding for outreach and education related to the recycling and trash cart program. As the City begins to implement the program, Flint residents will receive a variety of communications from the City about the new trash and recycling carts and services provided by Priority Waste.

In addition to enabling the City of Flint to implement a carted waste collection system, the Priority Waste contract extension freezes waste hauling rates through 2028, ensuring that Flint residents will have the stability of high-quality service at no increased cost. Under this agreement, Priority Waste will continue to collect trash bags, bulk items, and trash in additional cans at the curb, alongside the provided carts.