The Recycling Partnership and the Michigan Department of Environmental, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) have joined forces to launch multiple rounds of grants available to communities across the state to reduce contamination in their recycling programs. The first round of anti-contamination projects began in Summer 2020 and will continue through the end of 2021. The projects are made possible by an $800,000 EGLE grant, allocated in 2019, awarded to 14 grantees representing more than 100 communities and 300,000 households across the Great Lakes State. Grantees with drop-off recycling services used a modified version of the Feet on the Street program to combat recycling contamination and illegal dumping at recycling drop off sites while also improving awareness and participation in the local recycling program. Selected drop-off recycling program grantees benefited from inclusive signage and site improvements, security upgrades for features such as cameras, increased recycling participation, and other opportunities to educate households on what is and isn’t recyclable. Data on seven of the 14 communities from Phase One is now available — and The Partnership is publicly sharing that information for the first time at SWANA SOAR. All programs experienced a reduction in contamination, ranging from a low of 3.20 percent to a high of 44.83 percent. Join The Recycling Partnership for an in-depth overview of a realistic approach to improving quality of material in a drop-off recycling program — and how it differs from the needs of curbside. Participants will receive access to never-before-shared data from The Partnership’s work in seven communities across the state of Michigan and real-time insights into how contamination rates dropped in all programs. Additionally, Ford will cover the tactical approaches to budgeting for a contamination reduction campaign in drop-off programs — where and how to spend your dollars to see the most significant results.