The Southeastern Oakland County Resource Recovery Authority is offering free recycling bins and pickup service to businesses in Berkley and Huntington Woods as part of an effort to increase commercial recycling. 

SOCRRA representatives Laura Blake and Colette Farris will work with businesses to help implement the program and provide companies in Berkley and Huntington Woods with bins and/or carts. The service also includes once-weekly pickup.

"We are in the first phase of the project and have just started getting the word out to local businesses," Farris said.

"Part of the plan to motivate businesses to recycle is to provide recognition for their participation," she said.

Window stickers in storefronts will indicate that shops recycle and provide "added marketing value," Farris said. SOCRRA also notes that recycling has many benefits – besides being green, it can decrease trash pickup costs.

The effort, funded by an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), lasts until May 31. The goal of the program, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) of 2009, is to reduce fossil fuel emissions and energy use, improve energy efficiency and create jobs.

"Recycling is already well under way" at Berkley City Hall, said Steve Baker, a member of the City Council.  

Other cities participating in SOCRRA's recycling program are Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Clawson, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Lathrup Village, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak and Troy.

The program handles recyclables including paper (shredded, paperback books, mail, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, phone books), all plastic containers, metal (scrap, beverage cans, aerosol cans, metal coat hangers, pots and pans, toasters), glass, aseptic containers such as food and beverage paperboard boxes, milk and juice cartons, paper cups, small drink boxes and cardboard. 

SOCRRA urges participating businesses to place recycling containers throughout their offices, noting that in order to maximize participation, recycling must be as easy as throwing something away.

Recycling options abound

• SOCRRA already provides free recycling to schools in several communities, including Berkley and Huntington Woods. 
• The authority's Troy location on Coolidge Highway, between 14 Mile and 15 Mile roads, also offers a drop-off center where recyclable materials such as plastic bags, TVs, CDs, DVDs, cassettes, VHS tapes and other electronics are accepted. A paper-shredding service is available at the site. 
• Many Berkley businesses, including The Print Stop Inc. and Graphics Promotions, already participate in cardboard recycling.
• SOCCRA's curbside pickup service makes the chore easier, said Athena Vorves of Doggie in the Window, a Berkley pet care business. "We recycle everything … cardboard, drinking bottles, bleach buckets," she said. 

To find out more about recycling, contact Colette Farris, cfarris@socrra.org, or Laura Blake, lblake@socrra.org. Contact SOCRRA at 248-288-5150 or visit www.socrra.org.

Correction: SOCRRA was spelled incorrectly in the original headline on this story.