July 22, 2004

The Department of Environmental Quality announced it is awarding grants to five communities for the removal of harmful toxics such as lead and mercury from the environment. The grants, totaling $249,590, will be distributed to fund projects in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Leelanau County, Genesee County, and the Western Upper Peninsula.

The 2004 Community P2 Grant projects focus on the safe collection and recycling of consumer electronics, and on mercury switches found in automobiles.

“This program gives local government and health departments the means to promote safe recovery and recycling of every day items which contain hazardous materials, such as lead in electronics and mercury in automobile switches,” said DEQ Director Steven Chester. “This partnership will make communities safer.”

The projects are:

• The City of Grand Rapids, Environmental Protection Services Department, proposes bringing together municipalities and business involved in the automotive switch supply chain to develop an end-of-life stewardship process for mercury switches. The proposal seeks to expand removal of mercury-containing switches beyond the dismantling industry, making in-roads into the entire automotive supply chain. The City of Grand Rapids has been awarded $65,000 in Community P2 Grant funding.

• The Western Upper Peninsula District Health Department proposes to provide electronic-waste recycling opportunities to the five Upper Peninsula counties within the WUPDHD’s jurisdiction (Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon counties). The project will develop informational and promotional materials in order to educate and gain greater public involvement in e-waste recycling in the region. The WUPDHD has been awarded $40,000 in Community P2 Grant funding.

• Leelanau County proposes to implement an e-waste recycling program to divert approximately 59,500 pounds of material from landfills. This proposal is committed to making sure that collected e-waste materials will be rebuilt or updated for reuse when possible, and that those items not suitable for reuse will be deconstructed to recover recyclable materials with all end-of-life materials being disposed of properly. Leelanau County has been awarded $24,590 in Community P2 Grant funding.

• The Genesee County Metropolitan Planning Commission proposes to provide Genesee County with a permanent drop off location for e-waste. The facility would accept e-waste two days per week, six hours per day. The Commission will provide a variety of educational materials to promote e-waste recycling. The Commission has been awarded $65,000 in Community P2 Grant funding.

• The Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Authority proposes to implement a multi-media public outreach campaign to assist residents in properly identifying and understanding opportunities to improve their community through participation in e-waste recycling programs. Goodwill Industries will provide multi-faceted materials marketing, computer de-manufacturing, and a deployment program for electronic components. The GDRRA has been awarded $55,000 in Community P2 Grant funding.

The DEQ will manage the grants awarded under these programs. The grant recipients will be required to match the state funds by at least 25 percent.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Revised July 22, 2004 by Pat Watson