West Bloomfield, MI Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Sec. 13-91 finds that separating, collecting and properly using recyclables and compostables reduces landfill volume, conserves existing landfill space, supports other resource-recovery methods and lowers overall solid-waste costs, which is the stated basis for Sec. 13-92's mandate that the township hereby establishes a program for the separate collection of compostables, commingled recyclable materials and refuse from every residential property, run by all refuse haulers operating in the township on the schedule each hauler files with the township. Sec. 13-93 defines 'commingled' as source-separated recyclables mixed at the site of generation and placed in one approved container, and defines 'compostables' as yard waste plus 'household compostables,' meaning organic fruit and vegetable material from food preparation, excluding animal, fish, fowl waste, fat or meat.

Once a resident places designated recyclable material at the curb consistent with the article, Sec. 13-96 makes it the exclusive property of the licensed hauler under contract to collect it, creates a presumption that the resident intended it for recycling, and makes it unlawful for anyone not authorized by the township to collect, remove or pick it up, a scavenging ban aimed at protecting the program's revenue stream. No civil-infraction fine is designated specifically for Article IV, so violations fall back on the Sec. 1-10 general penalty: a misdemeanor of up to ninety-three days in jail and/or a $500 fine, each day separately chargeable.