Welcome new residents! Handle your moving materials, recyclables, trash, yard wastes easily and correctly.
Link here for a Web page devoted to Ann Arbor's new source-separated, single-stream recycling program starting Monday, July 5, 2010. More specifics at this link.
Compost cart truck-load pre-order sale until July 30
The city is offering residents the opportunity to order a municipal compost cart for a one-time fee of $25 when ordered by July 30, 2010. The pre-paid carts will be home-delivered starting in mid-September. Residents may select a 32-, 64-, or 96-gallon compost cart for $25. Additional carts may be pre-ordered to be delivered to the same address for $50 each. Place your order by clicking below (and add the payment to your next water bill) or by calling 734.994.7336 x 0 or in person at City Customer Service Center at 220 E. Huron, and pay by cash, credit/debit card, or payment on your next water bill. The special factory discount rate for compost carts applies only to carts that are ordered by 5 p.m., Friday, July 30, 2010. Compost carts picked up from the Customer Service Center at any time are priced at the normal cost of $50 each. The use of a rolling compost cart is a convenient option to the use of paper yard waste bags for collecting and transporting yard debris to the curb for weekly, seasonal pickup.
Press release for more compost cart information (2-page pdf).
Compost cart sale mailed brochure (2-page pdf).
Curbside home toxics pickups end June 30, 2010
The City of Ann Arbor’s residential curbside pickups of household batteries, used motor oil, and used oil filters will cease effective the end of the city’s fiscal year on June 30, 2010 as the city moves towards greater efficiency of recycling collection with the single-stream recycling program, starting citywide on Monday, July 5. These toxic materials may be recycled at many locations that had not been available when first included in the city’s recycling program the 1980s. The Drop-Off Station at 2950 East Ellsworth Road, accepts all these items in unlimited quantities at no charge once the $3 entry fee is paid (734.971.7400, www.recycleannarbor.org).
Additionally, many local auto repair and quick oil-change shops accept motor oil and filters for recycling. Rechargeable batteries can be dropped off at no charge for recycling at most stores that sell rechargeables (e.g., Best Buy, Target, Radio Shack, Batteries Plus, etc.) as well as at the city’s Customer Service Center and City Hall lobby, and at Washtenaw County’s Home Toxics Collection Center, 705 Zeeb Road, 734.222.3950. A listing of registered rechargeable battery collection sites is available online at www.rbrc.org. Within the last ten years, U.S.-made alkaline batteries do not contain added mercury, so the original rationale for collecting non-rechargeables and treating these items as a hazardous waste has become obsolete. In addition, the recent ruling by the federal Department of Transportation requiring all rechargeable batteries to be taped or individually bagged before shipping for recycling makes the store drop-off sites more manageable for complying with these procedures, as the collection boxes include baggies and instructions for preparing the batteries correctly. Press release attached (PDF).
Holiday Schedule Announcements
INDEPENDENCE DAY SCHEDULE FOR 2010: Collection will be provided as usual for solid waste, compost, and recycling pickup services on Monday, July 5, 2010 and throughout the week. This is the official first collection day for single-stream recycling for all residents and businesses. City Hall offices and the Drop-Off Station ONLY will be be closed on July 5, 2010 for the Independence Day observation. Link to the 2010 holiday collection schedule Web page.
Curbside compost collection resumes for the growing season on Monday, Apr. 5, 2010. Please see the Compostables Collection Web page for specific preparation requirements. Special spring Saturday 8-Noon compost sales hours available at the municipal compost center during April, May, and June.
Municipal compost is SOLD OUT for spring 2010. Mulch is still being sold, as-available. More information at www.a2gov.org/compost.
Master Composter class anticipated for Spring 2011. A Master Composter is a trained volunteer who understands home composting, benefits of compost, how to use natural mulches, and environmentally-friendly lawn care. A five-session Washtenaw County area Master Composter course will be offered this spring through the Ann Arbor Rec & Ed program. A Spring 2010 class was offered. More information is posted on this city Web site. Register at: http://www.aareced.com
Reminder: Make sure Ann Arbor counts! Complete and mail back your 2010 Census form: 10 questions, 10 minutes.
Recycle Ann Arbor Drop-off Station announces New $3 user fee structure effective Jan. 2, 2010 $3 per vehicle fee to apply to all customers except for compost sales; quantity discount pricing available (PDF)
A seasonal reminder to clear snow around from solid waste and recycling carts, stacking bins, and dumpsters and maintaing access roads and sidewalks (for disabled pickups) free of snow and ice. Snow memo attached (1-page PDF).
NEW! Fall 2009 uncooked fruit and vegetable food wastes are now accepted in the city's seasonal compost cart collection program. Press Release (2-page pdf). Also see the Compostables collection page.
Outstanding Business Recycler award recognition program is coordinated by Recycle Ann Arbor. Link to Web page listing current and past business award winners.
Free refrigerator pickups for recycling and $50 rebate when customers replace their refrigerators with energy-efficient models. See DTE customer program information at: http://dteenergy.com/residentialCustomers/saveEnergy/rebates/recyclingProgram.html (released July 1, 2009)
Commercial Recycling Improvement Initiative
Compost Collection Pilot for 2006/2007 for neighborhood of 260 residents.
Year-end Holidays Waste Reduction Tips (2-page PDF)
Education Pages including information on free tours of the city's municipal recycling plant (MRF).
Guide to Recycling Computer Monitors & Televisions; City's ban on landfill disposal of Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) (2-page PDF)
Five Year Solid Waste Plan Update 2002-2007 (81-page pdf)
Cutting the Waste Stream in Half, US EPA report 1999, listing Ann Arbor as one of the topo 20 communities in North America for Waste Reduction (48-Page PDF)
Questions? Contact customerservice@a2gov.org