What is Materials Management?
Materials Management encompasses a sustainable materials management approach that includes:
- Reduce: Lower the amount and toxicity of unwanted materials produced;
- Reuse: Use materials again and again instead of buying new;
- Repurpose: Upcycle items no longer needed for their original purpose;
- Recycle: Use unwanted materials to make new products;
- Recover: Use discarded materials to create energy; and
- Landfill: Last resort.
Materials management planning is a program designed to replace County Solid Waste Plans, with an emphasis on increasing sustainable practices, such as recycling and composting, in addition to ensuring safe disposal options. These materials can include food waste, yard clippings, recyclables, other source separated materials, and solid waste. The new law in Part 115, effective March 29, 2023, establishes statewide recycling goals and standards, and materials management plans (MMPs) will identify an implementation strategy to meet those goals.
SEMCOG facilitates a monthly meeting of the materials management planners at each of the seven counties to discuss the ongoing updates to the planning process. SEMCOG also sits on the Materials Management Planning Committee (MMPC) for each county as the regional agency representative.
For more information on the new materials management planning process, please visit EGLE’s Materials Management Planning website.
Materials Management County Engagement Grant
In 2022, EGLE created the Michigan Materials Management County Engagement Grant (MMCE) to provide funding to counties to help the transition from solid waste management to a holistic materials management approach. SEMCOG applied for MMCE grant funding as the Designated Planning Agency (DPA) for the grant for the seven counties in the region and the neighboring county of Lenawee.
The interactive Materials Management dashboard, below, was created for use in materials management planning in the region.
