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ANN ARBOR, MI With the citys new-and-improved recycling plant up and running, Ann Arbor officials are turning attention to better educating the community about waste reduction.

City Council voted 10-1 last week to OK an $853,211 contract with the local nonprofit Ecology Center for education, outreach and social-based marketing over the next five years.

That includes a marketing campaign to educate the community more about recycling, composting, trash and circular-economy programs and services.

Recycling education is, of course, imperative because we have new residents coming in all the time, Mayor Christopher Taylor said, referring to University of Michigan students and others. Further, the recycle marketplace changes all the time.

Ann Arbor opening new recycling plant. Heres what not to put in curbside bins.

A Recycle Ann Arbor truck collects curbside recyclables along Seventh Street on Aug. 22, 2022.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Council Member Ali Ramlawi, D-5th Ward, said the contract jumped out at him as substantial.

As we move forward with implementing new ways of trying to get to carbon-neutrality or something close to that, I understand the need to spend and educate, he said, asking about the goals and metrics to measure success of the program.

The new contract supports three goals: increasing the recycling rate in the commercial sector, moving toward a more circular economy reducing waste generated, and raising community awareness about appropriate handling of recyclable, compostable and trash materials to influence behavior change, said Sarah Mason, the citys resource recovery manager.

That includes work in five areas: community-based social marketing, commercial sector education, education and outreach at community events, multi-family housing education and outreach, and youth education, Mason said.

Initiative helps residents identify, break bad recycling habits

Bales of aluminum materials at a Recycle Ann Arbors Materials Recovery Facility on Friday, March 25, in Ann Arbor. The facility opened Dec. 1, 2021, after a year of construction to complete a $7.25 million overhaul of the facility, which had been defunct since 2016. Its physical redesign and operating strategy are both driven by a zero-waste ethic with the aim of rebuilding a credible, transparent recycling system.Meg Potter | MLive.com

The Ecology Center is the parent organization of Recycle Ann Arbor, the nonprofit that runs the citys recycling plant and handles curbside recycling pickup. It has been a trusted education partner of the city since at least 2010 and has over 50 years experience in environmental work, including expertise in education, outreach and marketing, Mason said.

Previous city contracts with the Ecology Center focused on in-classroom programming and field trips for school children. The new contract includes youth education and also expands to meet the broader needs of the community identified in the citys solid waste plan and A2Zero carbon-neutrality plan, Mason told council, adding the plan is to reach people of all ages, abilities, incomes, races, cultures and ethnicities.

That includes some grassroots education, meeting members of the public where they are at events, she said.

I just want to say how excited I am to see this contract, said Council Member Lisa Disch, D-1st Ward. It brings into focus the crucial synergies between A2Zero and solid waste. This five-year contract is no longer than usual, but it is more far-reaching than previous contracts because it undertakes a much more ambitious public education campaign that is aligned with our A2Zero goals.

That includes urgently needed things that have been on her wish list, Disch said, mentioning increasing recycling by businesses and boosting everyones literacy when it comes to appropriate handling of recyclable and compostable items and trash.

But then taking us to a new level where were not only better at the disposal end of things, but we explore strategies that extend the useful life of a good, she said, noting a circular economy means refurbishing and repurposing goods.

The city website includes a map of locations in Ann Arbor that support circular-economy and zero-waste initiatives, including repair shops and used-good stores.

See inside Ann Arbors new recycling plant after $7.25M overhaul

A bale of plastic materials at a Recycle Ann Arbors Materials Recovery Facility on Friday, March 25, in Ann Arbor. The facility opened Dec. 1, 2021, after a year of construction to complete a $7.25 million overhaul of the facility, which had been defunct since 2016. Its physical redesign and operating strategy are both driven by a zero-waste ethic with the aim of rebuilding a credible, transparent recycling system.Meg Potter | MLive.com

Disch said shes also excited about a new partnership with the Community Action Network, which will be working with lower-income, multi-family housing properties to help residents identify solid waste priorities and work through some of the challenges with making recycling work at those complexes.

Council Member Jeff Hayner, D-1st Ward, cast the lone dissenting vote, saying hes never seen any reports summarizing the good that comes from the type of education and outreach done by the Ecology Center.

Disch asked staff how effectively Ann Arbor residents are recycling in terms of not putting non-recyclable materials into bins that can contaminate the recycling stream. Staff responded the city has had some of the lowest contamination rates in the state and the city completed its first audit of the recently upgraded recycling plant off Platt Road in April.

The goal is to have a contamination rate of less than 12% and the audit showed it was slightly higher than that, Mason said.

But we are working to bring that down, and this education and this outreach will help, she said.

Ann Arbor is still a leader in recycling nationally, even though its not quite meeting its own ambitious goal, she said.

Ann Arbor is asking city voters in November to approve a new 20-year tax to further fund A2Zero carbon-neutrality initiatives.

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Ann Arbor puts $853K behind new recycling education campaign - MLive.com