MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Saturday, April 22nd was Earth Day and what better way to celebrate than host a Recycling Event. Meridian Township hosted the annual event at Chippewa Middle School in Okemos. Residents could bring by electronics, latex paint, mattresses, scrap metal, bikes and many other things to be recycled.

It was a busy for the Meridian Recycling Team and their volunteers. Meridian Township alone collected enough weight to break the Guinness World Record for “Most Consumer Electronics Recycled In 24 Hours At A Single Venue.” Meridian Township Recycling & Energy Coordinator LeRoy Harvey explained, “this was our largest recycling event in the past decade.  We were most appreciative of our 75 volunteer, some of who stayed in to the evening stacking and sorting metal and electronics.”

Since Meridian Township’s Recycling Event was apart of a statewide recycling effort coordinated by Advanced Technology Recycling (ATR), the Township's collection also helps break a second Guinness World Record. As a region they contributed to “Most Consumer Electronics Recycled In 24 Hours At Multiple Venues.” The record was previous held by a the largest recycling company in the world, which is based out of Australia.

Harvey also provided a list of how many items were recycled as follows:

·         4 semis + a box truck full of electronics  (twice as much as any event in the past decade) thanks to ATR (Advanced Technology Recycling and MDEQ)
·         100+ cubic yards of metal (large appliances, car parts, grills, stoves, washers, dryers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers)
·      70 items containing Freon which will be reclaimed with help from Friedland
·         1857 cans of paint (over 10,000 pounds) which will be recycled and resold by E-Paint Recycling of Battle Creek
·         500+ egg cartons (thanks to Titus Farms)
·         A large box truck and trailer filled with household items (furniture, books, knick knaks, dishes, clothing, shoes, tools, etc.) – Thanks to Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries
·         110 bicycles to be refurbished, reused, and recycled by Share-A-Bike and MSU Recycling
·         36 mattresses

 Harvey went on to say, “we couldn’t have done this without help from about 80 volunteers, dedicated staff from a dozen recycling organizations, three dozen sponsors, mother nature and residents.”

There will also be a scrap metal collection on April 29th, 2017 at Kinawa Middle School from 9am-3pm for those who have more to recycle.

Harvey explained they’re hoping to host another recycling event this fall on September 30th.