Kalamazoo runs an opt-in, every-other-week curbside recycling program with 96-gallon carts. In 2022, the city partnered with The Recycling Partnership, national leaders in transforming local recycling systems, with grant funding from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (MI EGLE) of over $379,000 through three years of collaboration.
The initial goal: reduce contamination.
A Feet on the Street cart tagging project revealed the scale of the participation challenge. Only 33% of enrolled households set out their cart at least once in 30 days. It confirmed what The Partnership sees nationwide: recycling access alone isn’t enough to ensure high participation. Building a better recycling system requires data, design, and targeted education and outreach.
From there, the work evolved. Each phase brought new insights, and with every dataset, Kalamazoo and The Partnership adapted, broadening efforts to cut contamination, standardize infrastructure, and engage residents across both single-family and multi-family households.
What began as a participation challenge grew into a system-wide transformation, designed not just to recycle more, but to build a stronger, scalable model for the future.
- Strengthening Infrastructure
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- In 2024, the city replaced 161 non-standard carts with official ones, delivered welcome packets with clear education, and, through a 2025 opt-in campaign, added 198 new households to the program.
- Boosting Participation
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- In 2024, smart cameras tracked recycling set-outs and contamination over eight weeks. Paired with in-home bins and behavior-based feedback mailers, the effort re-engaged “no-set-out” households. The city saw 40.8% of previously inactive households began recycling. A follow-up in 2025 delivered additional bins to households participating less than 50% of the time.
- Cutting Contamination
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- Smart cameras captured images of contaminants, and households received direct feedback mailers with those images. This real-time communication proved to be a powerful tool to improve recycling habits. And 47% of households contaminated less often.
- Expanding Multifamily Recycling
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- By 2025, 57 properties and nearly 4,900 households were engaged, adding 100 tons of recyclables in 2024 alone. Property managers, residents, and city staff worked together to expand capacity and improve access.
What began as a push to clean up the recycling stream became a citywide transformation. Guided by data and grounded in community needs, Kalamazoo and The Recycling Partnership expanded access, clarified the rules, and equipped residents with the tools to recycle right, all while reaching a wider audience across the city.
This isn’t just more recycling.
It’s a smarter, scalable system delivering measurable impact. Cleaner streams, stronger infrastructure, and a community empowered to keep pushing forward: proof of what’s possible when local commitment and national expertise move as one.