Earth Day 2022 Poster Contest

Poster Contest now extended to 4/18/2022!

Calling all student artists and crafty types!

The Greater Laingsburg Recyclers are hosting a poster making contest this spring to bring awareness to Earth Day.

The competition is open to any student who wants to participate and GLR welcomes submissions created by any artistic means. All submissions will be displayed in Laingsburg and may be reproduced.

Submissions are due April 18, 2022 and should be sent to recyclelaingsburg@gmail.com or dropped off at the Laingsburg Library or Laingsburg City Hall.

A panel of Laingsburg community members will select a first, second and third place winner from the elementary, middle school and high school groups. The winners will receive a $25, $15 and $10 Dairy Den gift card respectively.

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally.

GLR is excited to host its first poster making contest to celebrate Earth Day with Laingsburg and surrounding communities.

Earth Day 2021

How will you celebrate Earth Day 2021?

Please join the Greater Laingsburg Recyclers and the City of Laingsburg for an Earth Day Clean Up! We will meet at McClintock Park from 2-4 pm on Saturday, April 17! Designated clean up areas and supplies will be provided. Join us as we celebrate 51 years of Earth Day, make a difference in our own backyard, and honor this beautiful planet we live on!

GLR Press Release March 24, 2021

Submitted by Ellen Link

Area Recycling: Good News, Bad News

First, the Bad News: Due to the resurgence of COVID-19 rates in Michigan, and despite our previous hopes and plans, recycling in Laingsburg will not resume until May—assuming the pandemic once again seems to be receding. If everyone who is able to do so gets a vaccine and we all continue to play it safe, this should be possible, right?

But even when we resume the recycling drives, they will not, at least initially, be as comprehensive as they were in the past. The pandemic has wrought many changes and among them are the materials that are currently considered marketable—meaning the list of what we will be able to accept has changed. As it looks right now, come May we will no longer be able to accept plastics #3-7, glass, or electronics; we will, however, continue to accept #1 & #2 plastics, cardboard, metals, mixed office paper, newspaper and magazines.

Now for the Good News! First, the Greater Laingsburg Recyclers (GLR) can finally announce that EGLE (Environment, Great Lakes & Energy, formerly DEQ) has approved our grant application for funding the construction of a permanent recycling-waste reduction facility in Laingsburg! The building will be sited on Laingsburg Schools’ property and operated through a partnership of the city of Laingsburg, Laingsburg Schools and the GLR. The intention is to make its services available to all residents, businesses, schools and offices in the surrounding area. And the plan is to greatly expand our hours, which mean we’ll also need more volunteers. We hope the facility, projected to open in late fall 2021, will demonstrate the viability and value of making these services available in non-urban areas.

Regrettably, they did not approve the full funding needed to complete the project, so the GLR has been hard at work searching every nook and cranny for the extra dollars needed to complete the job. Contributions initially pledged by both Shiawassee and Clinton counties, City of Laingsburg, Woodhull and Victor townships and the GLR will fill much but not all of the gap. One of our efforts is a GoFundMe page, which has already raised $10,000. But we still have a way to go. You can contribute through the link on our website and Facebook page. https://recyclelaingsburg.wixsite.com/mysite

There’s one more bit of Good News: the state of Michigan is serious about increasing our state’s recycling rate and promoting waste reduction. To that end, EGLE is working with industry to expand the use of recyclable materials through something called Nextcycle. This may take a while to get off the ground but when it does will create jobs and a stronger economy. Also, bipartisan legislation (H.B. 4454-4461) focused on rewriting our outdated solid waste laws, which took years and numerous stakeholders to create and which will favor recycling over landfilling, has been reintroduced in the legislature (it was proposed last year but then expired). It can only help to contact your legislators to express your support. The future is looking better all the time.