Future of Marquette County landfill discussed, glass an issue

MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP — On Wednesday night, a joint municipality work session with the Solid Waste Management Authority was held at the Marquette Township Hall to discuss the county landfill, and ways to improve its recycling program and its life expectancy.

This comes just after the Marquette County Solid Waste Management Authority announced back in January that they would no longer be recycling glass; however, it was learned in March that glass has not been recycled for five years. Many members of the public have voiced their concerns, and are fighting for other options.

Recently, the Marquette City Commission held their own work session on the issue and looked at alternatives. Currently, there are three options for the city: one is to have glass picked up curbside every 4th week for about $1 per resident, another is to utilize drop-off containers that would be located near the city’s household rubbish collection site or the Municipal Service Center, and a third is to ‘part ways’ with the Waste Management Authority.

“Recycling is an important aspect of our waste stream, particularly glass,” said Marquette Township Manager, Randy Girard. “Glass doesn’t break down – our concern is that if we’re adding glass into the landfill, that’s shortening its life – it’s a material that doesn’t break down or erode like typical trash does. How that’s handled is a concern. We thought that for many years it was being recycled, and just recently found out that it was not.”

No voting took place during the work session – further discussion is expected in the matter.