Every year on April 22, the world celebrates Earth Day. The official EarthDay.org theme is Planet vs. Plastics, with a goal of reducing global plastics production by 60% by 2040.

Plastic production has now grown to more than 380 million tons per year, and more plastic has been produced in the last ten years than in the entire 20th century. Plastic pollution is not only an environmental issue worldwide, but has now become a health hazard as plastics break down into microplastics, releasing toxic chemicals into our food and water sources and even circulating through the air we breathe.

As our nation continues to make great strides toward becoming plastic-free in the future, there are community cleanups, sustainability pledges, and other Earth-centric activities you can take part in to show your support! On the EarthDay.org homepage, you can find an interactive map showing all of the Earth Day cleanups and rallies happening in your area, as well as a pledge to help end plastic pollution.

REDUCE

Reduce the amount of plastic waste you generate by making smart shopping decisions.

REUSE

Always choose quality and durability over convenience. Reusable is the way to go!

RECYCLE

Recycle your plastics at curbside or at RRRASOC recycling drop-off sites. Check our Recycling Guidelines to find out which plastics are accepted.

REMOVE

Pick up trash in your neighborhood or when visiting local parks, beaches, or trails. Remember to use gloves!

REFUSE

Say "No, thanks" to plastic straws or cutlery when eating out; bring you own reusable, washable utensils instead!

RALLY

Encourage your community leaders to spread awareness of the dangers plastic pollution poses to our planet and urge grocery chains to make the switch from plastic bags to reusable ones.

Every year for Earth Day, we encourage residents to check out our collection of resources available at RRRASOC.org to stay up-to-date on recycling guidelines and opportunities. Our website also contains resources to help you observe Earth Day in a variety of ways, from starting an at-home compost bin to making full use of our recycling drop-off sites. These resources are available all year - take a moment to explore our site and learn more!

Kicking Off Food Waste Recycling in Wixom

The City of Wixom, in partnership with Spurt Industries, Green for Life (GFL), and RRRASOC, is now allowing food scraps to be included in seasonal curbside yard waste collection. This means Wixom residents can now place fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy, and more with their yard waste! These scraps, like yard waste, will be composted and used as a soil amendment in gardens and city projects, thus creating healthy, nutrient-rich soil and cleaner air as opposed to them being sent to a landfill, where they would create methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

To get in the habit of collecting food scraps, place a conveniently-sized, lidded food scrap container in the kitchen and add food scraps during meal prep, after meals, and when cleaning out spoiled food from the refrigerator. When full, or just before pickup day, empty the food scrap container on top of the yard waste clippings and leaves in your curbside yard waste can or paper yard waste bag. The food scraps and yard waste will be collected and composted together. It's easy to feel good about doing your part for our environment!

Learn more about this exciting new program here!

Below is a list of items accepted in the Wixom food scrap program. Please note that twist ties, rubber bands, plastic, metal, glass, and liquids are not accepted.

This program is available ONLY to residents of Wixom.

Not a Wixom resident? You can bring your food scraps to Spurt Industries or to a local composting farm that accepts food scraps for proper disposal. Or, try your hand at home composting! Information on backyard composting can be found on our Composting page.

One of the many items that can be brought to RRRASOC Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Events is pill-form medicine. Properly disposing of expired, unused, or unwanted medicine can do more than just protect the environment - it could save a life! Utilize HHW Collection Events to make the process simple and convenient - just bring your pill-form medications in a sealed plastic bag.

Why is It Important?

The majority of unused or expired medicines enter either our solid waste system or our sewage system. Medicines flushed down the drain pass through wastewater treatment plants and may end up directly in our lakes and streams. Medicines disposed of in the garbage and sent to landfills can potentially seep into and contaminate surrounding groundwater. Proper disposal of unused, expired medications also reduces the risk of people consuming or handling medications improperly or illegally.

Can't make it to an HHW Collection Event? Medicines can also be safely dropped off at pharmacies, police departments, or a drug take-back program. Find locations and learn more about proper medicine disposal here.

Disposing of Medical Sharps

Medical sharps can puncture or cut skin, making them a health hazard when handled improperly. This includes needles, syringes, lancets, and auto injectors (such as an insulin pen), which are commonly used at home, at work, and while traveling to manage medical conditions of people and pets.

Unlike pill-form medications, medical sharps are NOT accepted at HHW Collection Events. They should instead be placed in an FDA-approved sharps container or a rigid plastic container that can be sealed and labeled properly. When the sharps container becomes full, be sure to seal and label it, and place the container in your garbage. Containers holding sharps are not accepted in curbside recycling nor at the drop-off sites - they must be placed in the garbage.

During the following HHW Collection Events, all residents of RRRASOC member communities are welcome to bring household hazardous waste for an opportunity to safely discard their hazardous items and e-waste. Simple Recycling and paper shredding services will also be available*.

April 13, 2024 👕

Wixom Dept. of Public Works

2041 Charms Rd., Wixom

9:00am - 2:00pm

April 20, 2024 👕

RRRASOC MRF - Truck Entrance

20875 Mapleridge Ave., Southfield

9:00am - 2:00pm

May 4, 2024

Oakland Community College

Orchard Ridge Campus Lot 8

27055 Orchard Lake Rd., Farmington Hills

May 18, 2024 👕

Milford Civic Center

1100 Atlantic St., Milford

Enter from West, off Mont Eagle St.

July 13, 2024 👕

Wixom Dept. of Public Works

2041 Charms Rd., Wixom

9:00am - 2:00pm

October 5, 2024

Novi Dept. of Public Works

26300 Lee BeGole Dr., Novi

9:00am - 2:00pm

October 26, 2024 👕

RRRASOC MRF - Truck Entrance

20875 Mapleridge Ave., Southfield

9:00am - 2:00pm

*The T-shirt icon indicates an HHW Collection Event during which clothing, shoes, accessories, and small household items will be accepted by Simple Recycling.

For more information about HHW events and how to prepare your items, please visit our HHW page.

If you have HHW that you'd like to properly dispose of between collection events, you're in luck! Drop off your HHW without a fee at ERG Environmental Services during the following hours:

Monday - Friday:

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Not sure what to do with stuff?

Visit rrrasoc.org and use the Recycling Directory search bar to type in keywords and get recycling, composting, reuse or disposal instructions.

The searchable, intuitive format of the Recycling Directory provides RRRASOC specific information.

Also Available:

Mobile App

• From your App Store or Google Play, search for "Recycling Authority"

Want more tips, tricks, and updates about recycling? We have a Facebook page where we can reach each other to make recycling easier. You can also reach us via RRRASOC.org and email at education@rrrasoc.org!

RRRASOC - Recycling Authority | 248-208-2270 | rrrasoc.org