Celebrating a Decade of Environmental Excellence: Emterra Group's Michigan Division Turns 10!

September 11, 2023

Emterra Environmental USA is celebrating a decade of dedicated service, innovation, and environmental stewardship. Over the past ten years, our Michigan division has grown to four locations, including creating a new Material Recovery Facility in the capital region at a transformed former brownfield site. 

When Emterra first entered Michigan, our mission was to grow the local circular economy by opening a Material Recovery Facility (MRF). We also had a strong desire to gain the trust from local customers that we were not an outside firm taking over local resources and that we were fully committed to providing the best possible services in the best interests of local communities. 

In 2020, that vision became a reality and the MRF was constructed on what was then an underutilized brownfield site and now serves as a regional recycling centre in a hub-and-spoke model in the capital city of Lansing. The state-of-the-art recycling facility combines the latest technologies, including optical sorters, robotics, and artificial intelligence, to create recycled commodities used by American manufacturers to make new products and packaging, keeping resources within the local economy and out of landfills. 

“As we reflect on our journey, we're humbled by the progress we've achieved together – from pioneering a state-of-the-art recycling facility to implementing best practices that would deliver value-added waste collection across the mitten state,” says Paulina Leung, Chief Sustainability Officer of Emterra Group. “When we considered expanding Emterra Environmental into Michigan, we saw a great opportunity to lend our recycling expertise to local government and communities, while building out the infrastructure that was not yet established.”  

Also reflecting on the last ten years, General Manager of Emterra Environmental USA, Angelo Caramagno shares, “Prior to Emterra’s development of the Lansing MRF, we processed single stream recycling at a small, local business a few miles away. When that business shut down, Emterra stood true to its mission and refused to landfill the recyclables. We sent the materials to our sister MRF in Burlington, Ontario for processing and immediately began looking for an appropriate location for a new MRF. The rest is history.” 
 
Overall, the heart of our success lies in the collective efforts of our local team members, partners, and customers. As we commemorate this milestone, we also set our sights on the future. The next ten years hold even more exciting opportunities for us to advance the circular economy, enhance operational efficiencies, and continue making a positive impact on the local communities we proudly serve.

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