SOCRRA MRF

RESIDENTS OF SOCRRA COMMUNITIES Information Page

SOCRRA Recycling Drop-Off Center

                                  Welcome, residents of SOCRRA communities (Berkley, Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Clawson, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak and Troy)!  On these pages, you should find all the information you need regarding what you can put in your curbside bin, what you can bring to SOCRRA's Recycling Drop-Off Center, as well as information on the disposal of electronics and household hazardous waste, SOCRRA's services, hours of operation & rates, disposal of yard waste over winter when curbside collection is discontinued in member cities, recycling education workshops and tours.  If you do not find the information you are looking for or have further questions, please e-mail us at socrra@socrra.org or call 248-288-5150 and we will do our best to assist you.  Please also take the time to visit SOCRRA's web site at www.socrra.org.

CURBSIDE RECYCLING
Click here for a printable copy of the 2008/2009 Curbside Recycling Guidelines NEW!
Click here to view the Curbside Recycling video
As a resident of one of SOCRRA's member communities, you may place all of the following in your curbside bin.

• ALL PLASTIC CONTAINERS (Please make sure they are empty and rinsed out)
  any kind of plastic container that fits in your recycling bin; no need to look for the number in the recycling symbol on the bottom.

  examples water bottles tubs trays buckets - (example - kitty litter containers) milk jugs orange juice containers soap containers Cool Whip containers butter tubs yogurt containers plastic flower flats

  
  
   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  
  Exceptions - No plastic bags in the curbside bin. (They can be brought to SOCRRA's Recycling Drop-off Center).  Also, please discard plastic containers that had motor oil or poison in them.  These are not recyclable.  No plastic silverware, dishes or plastic toys.  Remember, it must be a plastic container!
   

• GLASS BOTTLES (Please rinse out) (You may leave metal caps on).
  Clear, brown, blue and green (NEW!)
  
  No light bulbs; no window glass; no drinking glasses.
   

• PAPER, PAPERBACK BOOKS, MAIL & PAPERBOARD BOXES
  Place all together in brown paper or plastic grocery bag in your recycling bin.

  NEW!  Empty food and beverage boxes, milk cartons, paper cups, drink & juice boxes (Please rinse out). You can put them in a bag with your paper items - or - just place them loose in your bin.

  examples newspapers & glossy inserts magazines & catalogs telephone books office paper - any color, staples are OK "junk mail" - window envelopes are OK construction paper - crayon marks are OK manila folders (please remove metal clamps) loose-leaf paper computer paper carbonless forms
  paperback books (no hardcover books in the curbside bin; take to SOCRRA's Recycling Drop-off Center.) shredded paper (place in tied, see through plastic bag in recycling bin) tissue boxes shoe boxes pizza boxes (remove greasy liner) cereal boxes paper towel/toilet paper cores

  
   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  
  
   

   

  
  Exceptions
  No napkins, tissues, hand towels.

  CARDBOARD BOXES Prepare one of the following ways: 1) Unfold, flatten and bundle boxes with twine or tape and place inside, next to or under bin.  Bundles must be no larger than your recycling bin. 2) Unfold, flatten and stuff tightly all boxes and paper items into a larger box, no larger than the size of your recycling bin. 3) Residents of Birmingham, Beverly Hills, Ferndale and Royal Oak may set large, empty appliance boxes next to recycling bin.  Make sure boxes are clear of packing materials and trash.  No need to break them down! You can also bring any size cardboard box to SOCRRA's Recycling Drop-off Center "as is" - no need to break down, tie or tape boxes.

  
   

HOUSEHOLD BATTERIES (AA, C, HD, button - "dry cell")
Place these small batteries in a plastic baggie in your recycling bin.  Large batteries from cars, motorcycles, boats, golf carts, lawn mowers, etc. ("lead acid") must be brought to SOCRRA's Recycling Drop-Off Center.  No need to make an appointment to bring in batteries.
 

METAL (Must be empty - please rinse out) Cans Clothes hangers (no plastic, please!) Aerosol cans Aluminum foil Small scrap metal objects Toasters Pots & pans Pipe Empty paint cans Expired license plates? Put them in your bin!

FOR METAL:  IF IT FITS IN THE BIN, PUT IT IN!  IF IT'S TOO BIG FOR THE BIN, BRING IT TO SOCRRA'S RECYCLING DROP-OFF CENTER.

Do you need a recycling bin?  Costs (as of July 2008) are as follows.  Contact your local DPW for more information and to verify pricing since this information is subject to change.

SOCRRA'S RECYCLING DROP-OFF CENTER
(Click here for a printable copy of SOCRRA's Recycling Drop-Off Center Guidelines.) Please note: The guidelines have not yet been updated to include the new additions mentioned below.
SOCRRA has a Recycling Drop-Off Center at 995 Coolidge in Troy (between 14 & 15 Mile Roads - across the street from Meijer - see map).  All of the items listed above (that can be placed in your curbside bin) can also be brought to SOCRRA's Recycling Drop-Off Center + the items listed below (they cannot be placed in your curbside bin.)

• CDs, DVDs, videotapes, floppy discs and cassettes - only collected at SOCRRA's Recycling Drop-off Center.  Place in designated containers in "Discs & Tapes" shed.  Please remove discs from plastic cases and place in separate containers at the Center.

• Hardcover books - only collected at SOCRRA's Recycling Drop-off Center.  Place in "Hardcover Books" shed.

• Large batteries from cars, motorcycles, boats, golf carts, lawn mowers, etc. ("lead acid") - only collected at SOCRRA's Recycling Drop-off Center.  See HHW attendant at the site.

• Plastic bags - clean, empty plastic bags (grocery store, drugstore, dry cleaners) - only collected at SOCRRA's Recycling Drop-0ff Center.  Place them in the containers in the "Plastic Bag" shed.  No twine or plastic handles, please.

• Clothing, shoes, blankets and toys - SOCRRA has two IICD Clothes Collection Bins on site.  Bring in your used clothing, shoes, blankets and toys and drop in the blue bins.  IICD is dedicated to the training of volunteers who perform humanitarian work in Africa and Asia.

Free paper shredding is available at SOCRRA's Recycling Drop-Off Center - open to the public during regular business hours.  Bring in your personal documents and shred them yourself.  Shredders handle approximately 40 sheets at a time.  Please remove paper clips.

ELECTRONICS -Don't trash that technology, recycle your old electronic equipment!
(Click here for a printable copy of the electronics flyer)

Residents of SOCRRA communities (sorry, no businesses!) can bring in their old electronic equipment for recycling by appointment only.  (Businesses can call Classic Computer Recovery in Garden City at 312-643-0950 or Great Lakes Electronics in Detroit (1-313-838-7000) for information on recycling electronics.)

To make an appointment, residents need to call 248-288-5153. Morning or afternoon appointments can be scheduled Monday-Saturday. The drop-off site is located at 995 Coolidge, between 14 & 15 Mile Roads - across from Meijer- see map).  No drop-ins, please! 

Any Kind of electronic equipment including: Computer equipment - CPUs, monitors, keyboards, printers, mice, hard drives, cables, motherboards, videoboards, network cards, zip drives, laptops Televisions* Radios Telephones/cell phones Copy machines Fax machines Stereos VCRs CD players Scanners Games Camcorders Typewriters

*Note:  It will cost SOCRRA $25 to have your 100 lb. television set recycled.  Please consider these other options regarding disposal of old TVs:

• If it still works, save it to view movies (VHS, DVDs) or for your electronic video games.

• We cannot accept wooden cabinets, so if your TV is in one, you need to remove it from the cabinet before bringing to SOCRRA.

• When you purchase a new television, try to get the seller to take your old one.

• Consider donating the old TV to a charity or low income family.

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE
(Click here for a printable copy of the Household Waste flyer)

This program offers residents of SOCRRA's member municipalities (Berkley, Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Clawson, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak and Troy) a convenient and effective means of disposing of those household waste products which require special handling, processing and disposal.  There is no direct charge to you for this service.  The community in which you live will be assessed for disposal costs.

Examples of what you can bring in (by appointment only - call 248-288-5153) (see map):

paints herbicides pesticides outdated medicines insulin syringes gasoline oil floor wax furniture polish smoke detectors stain removers (For a complete list of what can be brought in (by appointment), download the Household Waste flyer (above).

Remember, our first recommendation is always to use the product up; don't make it a waste in the first place.

For information from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) on landfill prohibited materials and appropriate disposal options, check on the following:
 http://www.deq.state.mi.us/documents/deq-ess-p2tas-BannedLandfillMaterials.pdf

SOCRRA'S SERVICES, HOURS OF OPERATIONS & RATES
(Click here for a printable copy)

Listings include location, services, hours of operation and rates for the Troy Transfer Station, SOCRRA MRF, SOCRRA's Recycling Drop-Off Center, Household Hazardous Waste Disposal, Electronics Recycling and SOCRRA's Compost Site.

COLLECTION GUIDE FOR RECYCLING, YARD WASTE, BRUSH & TRASH (Click here for a printable copy)

Here you will find information on recycling, yard waste, brush and trash, as well as what items are excluded at the curb.  Also, there is information on contacts in the SOCRRA member cities, as well as a quick reference guide.

WINTER YARD WASTE DISPOSAL - December 2008-1st week in April, 2009
In the absence of curbside collection, residents (no businesses, landscapers, etc.) of SOCRRA's Member Communities can bring their bags of leaves, grass or brush bundles (up to 10 filled yard waste bags or bundles per home per day) to the Troy Transfer Station, located at 991 Coolidge in Troy across from Meijer (between 14 & 15 Mile Roads - see map) for composting, at no charge.  Hours are M-F 8 am-4 pm and Sat 8 am-noon.  Curbside collection of yard waste begins again in your community the week of April 7th.

This free service is available only for SOCRRA residents and only during the dates listed above.  The regular disposal rate of $54.00/ton with a $35.00 minimum charge will apply at all other times and to yard waste brought in by businesses or landscapers.

RECYCLING EDUCATION WORKSHOPS
(Click here to go to SOCRRA's web site home page).  In the center of the page is a list of upcoming events (if events are scheduled), new information and announcements.  Also click on the "What's New?" button on SOCRRA's home page for more information.

TOURS
(For more information, click here).

One hour tours - SOCRRA offers educational tours year-round at the Education Center at 995 Coolidge in Troy (see map) from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.  These tours last approximately one hour and consist of a short video, recycling activities and a tour of the MRF, highlighting the sorting and baling processes.

Half-hour tours - SOCRRA offers half-hour tours around Earth Day in April (April 22nd) and America Recycles in November (November 15th) .  Exact dates and times for these tours are shown on the home page of SOCRRA's web site (www.socrra.org) a month or two in advance.

To book a tour or for more information, call Kathy Hyde at 248-288-5150.