For Immediate Release
April 14, 2021
Westland's Recycling Education Initiative Results in Drastic Reduction in Contamination
Westland, MI (April 14, 2021) - On Monday, April 5, Mayor William R. Wild announced a drastic reduction of contaminated recycling loads following the city's comprehensive education efforts.

The City's recycling program was reinstated in July of 2020 after being suspended in 2019 due to increased processing costs. In the early months of the recycling program, the number of contaminated loads were concerning as the city was paying a penalty plus additional disposal fees. In September, a high of 56% of the city's 51 loads were rejected.

In November of 2020 the City of Westland launched a comprehensive education initiative which consisted of informational packets hand delivered to all residential households, social media, water bill inserts, and promotions on the City's cable station. Since these citywide educational efforts, Westland has seen a significant drop in the percentage of contaminated loads to 9% or less in the last three months.

"As part of the City's strategy to improve recycling quality, the City of Westland has also established an interactive map which will allow the sanitation department to identify the routes of contaminated loads in order to identify which neighborhoods may require additional outreach," commented Mayor William R. Wild.

Since its inception in 2009, Westland's curbside recycling program has resulted in 100,000,000 pounds of processed recycling. For more information on the city's recycling program, visit www.cityofwestland.com.

Residents can also visit www.recyclingsimplified.com to further educate themselves on the program specifics.

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Westland, Michigan is the state’s 10th largest municipality, with a population of over 84,000.

Westland has been recognized as one of 24/7 Wall Street’s America’s Best 50 Cities to Live, offering residents and visitors an ideal blend of single – family affordable homes, apartments and condominiums, great schools, and access to numerous outdoor activities. Public safety is delivered by full-service, professional law enforcement and firefighting personnel.

Westland is well known as a premier destination for shopping and dining in Wayne County with hundreds of shops and restaurants anchored by the Westland shopping Center, one of the country's original four regional malls.

The City is served by two public school districts. Wayne-Westland Community Schools serving 12,000 youth was recently named one of the best schools in Michigan by WXYZ-TV and is the proud recipient of 14 Golden Apple and two Michigan Blue Ribbon Exemplary School Awards. Livonia Public Schools, educating nearly 15,000 students, is proud of their MEAP/MME scores that exceed State averages and the district has also earned Golden Apple and Michigan Blue Ribbon Exemplary School awards.

The City provides competitive incentives for those who are interested in investing in Westland, making it one of the hottest investment markets in the region. Westland's Fast-Track to Business Team, which consists of key decision makers who work diligently to “cut the red tape” and expedite the approval process for new business development.