Ann Arbor wants to have a circular economy. So what does that mean?

Ragstock

Recycled clothing for sale on the sidewalk outside Ragstock, 337 E. Liberty St., in downtown Ann Arbor on Oct. 7, 2022.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

ANN ARBOR, MI — “Circular economy” isn’t exactly a household term yet, but Ann Arbor hopes to change that in its quest to become a greener city.

It’s a core strategy of the city’s A2Zero carbon-neutrality plan, and it’s about keeping goods and materials in rotation and out of landfills by reusing, repairing, sharing, lending and otherwise finding ways to extend the useful life of items like appliances, bicycles, furniture, toys and clothes.

A linear economy, on the other hand, creates waste as items are produced, sold, used and thrown away.

Building a circular economy means rediscovering a culture of reclaiming products and materials, the city’s new circular-economy webpage states, pointing residents to resources including a map of local establishments such as thrift stores and repair shops, and ways to learn how to repair and reuse broken items.

The city also has created this checklist for residents to see how much they’re already participating in the circular economy:

Ann Arbor circular economy

Ann Arbor's circular-economy checklist for residents.City of Ann Arbor

‘Everyone is a part of the circular economy’

Ann Arbor leaders are starting to talk more and more about moving toward a zero-waste circular economy, which includes expanding and increasing use of composting, recycling and reuse services and programs, supporting local and sustainable food generation, and construction-waste recovery programs.

With recent voter approval of a new 20-year climate-action tax, the city will have more funding to advance such efforts starting next year.

“That’s a really important area to keep focusing on because it’s really personal — everyone is a part of the circular economy,” said Missy Stults, the city’s sustainability director.

“We’re going to be investing in things like reuse systems, swap days, but also we need the public to come forward and help us define ‘circular economy’ and what they want to see and how they want to engage in making it real,” she said.

Swap days can be opportunities for community members to come together and offer items for free and exchange goods, she said.

Missy Stults

Missy Stults, Ann Arbor's sustainability director, poses outside the newly renovated and expanded TeaHaus on Fourth Avenue with tea to go in her own reusable cup on Dec. 2, 2022.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Whatever doesn’t get taken on swap days could be donated to social-services agencies and thrift shops, Stults said.

Many local residents already are participating in the circular economy by engaging in online forums where used items are regularly offered for free and claimed by eager takers. One such forum, the Facebook group “Buy No Things Ann Arbor, MI,” has over 18,000 members.

Ann Arbor also has long had a culture of residents setting used items at the curb with “free” signs, and such items are often quickly nabbed by neighbors. However, some residents have complained to city leaders about receiving violation notices from city code enforcement officers for leaving items at the curb.

Whether the city should relax enforcement to better foster a culture of reuse has been discussed, but officials haven’t changed the rules against leaving items at the curb yet.

Lawn mower

An old lawn mower advertised as free for the taking curbside in Ann Arbor on Nov. 15, 2022.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Stults said her office aims to help facilitate a more organized approach.

“Stay tuned,” she said. “We’re going to be doing a whole bunch of public engagement early in the new year to define the circular economy, and we need all voices.”

The city website encourages residents to stay tuned for a new Community Television Network video series called “Making the Old New: Stories of Circularity.”

One of the first videos tells the story of “Just Help Yourself Day,” an effort organized by neighborhood residents on the city’s west side to share free stuff. Another tells the story of El Harissa, a North African and Mediterranean restaurant and market on Maple Road that is participating in the city’s reusable takeout container program and has calculated the carbon footprint for each of its dishes, categorizing them as low, moderate or high.

“We’re happy to share that over half of our dishes have a low carbon footprint, so you can savor our food while saving the planet,” the restaurant proudly proclaims.

iPhone repair

An iPhone repair store in Nickels Arcade in downtown Ann Arbor on Dec. 2, 2022.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

City aims to change consumer habits

The city’s circular-economy initiative was discussed in detail at a recent Ann Arbor Environmental Commission meeting.

Jenny Petoskey, the city’s solid waste outreach and compliance specialist, presented a preliminary $150,000 budget for circular-economy branding and marketing, with a promotional campaign proposed to launch next spring, possibly with circular-economy entities advertised on billboards and bus stops.

“We want to change the way people purchase and value goods and services,” she said. “We want the circular economy to be the first option, instead of a quick online purchase or a big-box store.”

Environmental Commission

A new circular-economy map of Ann Arbor presented by Jenny Petoskey, the city's solid waste outreach and compliance specialist, at a meeting of the Ann Arbor Environmental Commission on Oct. 27, 2022.CTN

Commissioner John Callewaert said he and City Council Member Lisa Disch, D-1st Ward, along with Petoskey, have been meeting regularly for nearly two years to work on the circular-economy strategy. Their work has garnered support, he said, mentioning NextCycle grant funding for outreach and messaging and two interns through the city’s sustainability office. They’ve also had support from a group of graduate students from the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability who have leveraged additional funding.

“Finally, we just got funded with a $20,000 Urban Sustainability Directors Network grant to help us with some focused community outreach,” Callewaert said.

“Our project has inventoried, mapped, and now we want to brand Ann Arbor’s circular economy to make it visible, accessible and enticing to all who would shop, sell or participate,” Petoskey said, noting a lot of greenhouse gas emissions come from the production of new goods and food.

Ragstock

Recycled clothing for sale on the sidewalk outside Ragstock, 337 E. Liberty St., in downtown Ann Arbor on Oct. 7, 2022.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

“When people think about reducing their carbon footprint, they typically think about energy, solar panels, electric cars — they don’t think about the goods that they buy,” she said. “This is where the circular economy comes in: 45% of greenhouse gas emissions are from the consumption of products and materials. I just want that to sink in a bit. Everything we buy produces greenhouse gas emissions.”

There’s already a vast circular economy grounded by those whose participation is a part of their lives, rather than a term, and historically that has included lower-income people and people of color, Petoskey said, noting social-services agencies often use reused goods to help house and resettle people. Some of those organizations include the Community Action Network, Jewish Family Services and House N2 Home.

“These organizations build equity and resilience in our community,” Petoskey said, also mentioning local food production and distribution through entities such as Argus Farm Stop, Food Gatherers, Project Grow and People’s Food Co-Op.

“Food production, especially at scale, is fossil-fuel intensive,” she said. “Anything that maximizes the use of food reduces greenhouse gas emissions.”

BYOC

A refill station inside BYOC Co. (Bring Your Own Container), a store on Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor on Dec. 2, 2022.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Buying bulk foods and buying local also helps and reduces packaging waste, Petoskey said, mentioning stores such as By The Pound and BYOC Co. (Bring Your Own Container). She also noted opportunities to borrow a wide range of items from the Ann Arbor District Library, which lends out everything from books to movies, CDs, music instruments, home tools and art prints.

Disch said she’s been working hard on the city’s circular-economy strategy and spends about as much time on it as anything else on council.

“It is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done,” she said.

She encourages residents to visit the city website to learn more and sign up for a circular-economy newsletter.

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