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HAZEL PARK — The Saturday after Earth Day, the Hazel Park Department of Public Works will accept a variety of materials for recycling. The same day, residents will also help clean up their favorite parks, all in the spirit of environmental stewardship.
The recycling event is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 26 at Hazel Park’s DPW complex, located at 24211 Couzens Ave. in Hazel Park.
There will be paper shredding — a smart way to safely dispose of sensitive documents without adding to landfills. The city will also be recycling scrap metal and electronics such as computers, phones, TVs and video players, as well as safely disposing of hazardous materials such as paint, cleaning supplies, fertilizers and oils.
“It’s about taking care of where you live. It’s really about health,” said Mike Webb, the mayor of Hazel Park. “The recycling is a free service, so we encourage everyone to take advantage of it, if for no other reason than to get stuff you no longer need out of your basement and garage, and to recycle it in a safe way.”
Timothy Young, Hazel Park’s director of public services, said via email that some residents brought old lamps and even a few microwaves to past events. Larger appliances aren’t accepted, however, nor are mattresses or “general trash” — those should be disposed curbside on garbage day. One can drop off batteries, though — just not car batteries.
“Generally, they’re the type of items that a homeowner would have to take directly to the SOCRRA facility in Royal Oak,” Young said, referring to the Southeastern Oakland County Resource Recovery Authority, located at 3910 W. Webster Road. “This event saves them a trip and has no cost, should SOCRRA charge at their yard in Royal Oak.”
As for medications and sharps, those can be safely disposed of in the lobby of the Hazel Park Police Department located next to City Hall at 111 E. Nine Mile Road, around the corner from the Hazel Park District Library.
All that spring cleaning can work up an appetite, so there will be free hot dogs at the event. The DPW will also host a variety of vendors, who will bring educational materials on environmental topics such as protecting the watershed. Those looking to spruce up their community can also learn more about the ongoing efforts of the city’s Beautification Commission.
The event is outdoors, but will move inside the DPW garage in the event of inclement weather. More than 200 residents took advantage of the recycling services at last year’s event.
Also on April 26, from 9 a.m. to noon, there will be organized cleanups at parks around town. To register as a volunteer for your favorite park, call (248) 547-5535, and specify which one you’d like to help clean. Afterwards, the volunteers are invited back to the DPW for a hot dog lunch.
“We’ve had this cleanup program for years,” Webb said. “Many of our residents volunteered there over the years. We clean up debris from the winter, and then the DPW goes in and cleans up even more afterward.”
Citizen-led efforts to protect Hazel Park’s environment have picked up pace in recent years. Hazel Park was recently awarded “Tree City USA” status through the Arbor Day Foundation, the first time the city has been certified as such since 1999. The coveted certification recognizes the city’s efforts to maintain its tree canopy.
It was late 2023 when a group of residents raised concerns about the city cutting down trees for its sidewalk replacement program. This led to the Hazel Park DPW securing a grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources that helped plant more than 280 trees — the most the city has ever committed to at once.
The same grant also funded a recent tree inventory that will help the city better manage its existing trees. Meanwhile, a separate habitat restoration grant was secured from Oakland County, which will plant additional trees in the city’s parks.
The city’s Beautification Commission also rebooted and created a subcommittee focused on the tree canopy, and the city established a Tree Board comprising city staff members and residents, as well, which will monitor efforts in the parks and elsewhere to keep Hazel Park verdant and green.
These initiatives and more led to the Arbor Day Foundation’s designation of Hazel Park as a “Tree City USA,” exhibiting best practices for maintaining its green spaces, a certification also enjoyed by neighboring Madison Heights, Ferndale, Royal Oak, Berkley and Birmingham.
Officials say that the April 26 recycling event and parks cleanup align with that theme of environmental stewardship.
“We try to keep our parks clean and friendly for our kids to play in,” Webb said. “That’s what this is all about.”
