The Kentwood Recycling Station - located on Breton Avenue, just north of 52nd Street - closed in June. The center originally opened in 2007.
“One of the reasons why we closed it was because we were not able to efficiently transport the recyclables to our facility, which is on Wealthy Street," said Kristen Wieland, Communications and Marketing Manager for the Kent County Department of Public Works.
She says the station collected plastic, metal, glass and cardboard... but lacked the ability for on-site compaction making it inefficient for transporting recycled materials.
With this center closed, there are two drop off sites remaining in Kent County. One is at the processing center on Wealthy Street and the other is on 10 Mile in Rockford.
Residents are encouraged to use curbside recycling at their homes, which Wieland says is available for most. However, its estimated only 1 in 4 households in Kent County utilize recycling services.
“We have a long-ways to go in Kent County to get more people recycling,” Wieland said.
