Ice Mountain® 100% Natural Spring Water donates $10K for new recycling truck to keep improving services of Mecosta County Recycling Center
Ice Mountain® 100% Natural Spring Water donated $10,000 to Recycle Mecosta, a 34-year-old local nonprofit material recovery organization run mainly by volunteers in Mecosta County, Michigan. The donation has been used to help the organization purchase a new recycling truck to service area homes, businesses, and Ferris State University in retrieving materials for recycling and reuse at the Mecosta County Recycling Center.
(left to right) Paul Griffith, Recycle Mecosta board member; Bonnie Clark, Recycle Mecosta board chair; and Rob McInnis, Recycle Mecosta executive director are presented with a $10,000 donation from Arlene Anderson-Vincent, Senior Natural Resource Manager, Ice Mountain®.
“The work of Recycle Mecosta to make recycling services and infrastructure available to this community is valuable to residents and businesses, alike, as we all work together to be good stewards of resources, our environment, and the economy, “said Arlene Anderson-Vincent, Ice Mountain® Natural Spring Water Senior Natural Resources Manager. “Ice Mountain appreciates the opportunity to support the needs of Recycle Mecosta to serve the community and we are pleased to contribute $10,000 toward the purchase of the new route truck.”
Recycle Mecosta had been relying on a truck that is 13 years old with more than 115,000 miles and counting. The truck was on the road six days a week.
“Our community values the wise use of resources and minimizing waste, and Recycle Mecosta continues to enjoy tremendous support from our partners in the public and private sector to achieve our mission,” said Bonnie Clark, Mecosta Recycle board president. “We know we can count on Ice Mountain to champion our work, and we truly appreciate the company’s financial support.”
The rural stretches of the Mecosta area, like many areas nationwide, don’t yet have curbside recycle pick-up. For people of Mecosta County, Recycle Mecosta fills a vital role in making recycling of valuable materials possible and convenient. Recycle Mecosta is open to county residents six days a week where residents can recycle cardboard, office paper, newspapers, magazine, plastics, glass, scrap metal, aluminum, and other items. The recycling center takes material that many others do not, including Styrofoam, shredded paper (purchased and used by an area composter for animal bedding), and hardcover books.
In 2022, Recycle Mecosta saved 4,241 cubic yards of landfill space and collected 462 tons of material including:
1. 306 tons of cardboard
2. 43 tons of office paper, junk mail and books
3. 41 tons of newspaper and magazines
4. 21 tons of plastic #1 and #2
5. 20 tons of glass
6. 22 tons of tin cans and scrap metal
7. .5 tons of aluminum
8. 7 tons of Styrofoam
Plastic #1 (PET) and recycled PET (rPET) are used to make Ice Mountain bottles. The more recycling of PET bottles the closer we can get to bottle-to-bottle recycling in the future.
Recycle Mecosta has five compactors, a glass crusher and a second building that is used to store bailed material when a vendor requires a full trailer load. There is also a covered dock that accommodates four tractor trailer trucks.
The Ice Mountain® Brand is one of several local companies and organizations to donate to the purchase of the new recycling truck, which soon will be decked out with graphics to promote recycling and recognize the donors, including Ice Mountain®.
Ice Mountain® has a history of supporting local recycling initiatives and has contributed to Recycle Mecosta previously to help with new equipment needed by workers. Incentivizing recycling, waste reduction and material reuse are key pillars of BlueTriton Brand’s sustainability ethos.
