To: Dr. Beverly Brown, Community & Economic Development Committee Chairperson
From: Derek Bradshaw, Director
title
RE: Approval of a Letter of Support for Happy Can’s Solid Waste Processing and Transfer Facility
recommendation
BOARD ACTION REQUESTED:
Staff is requesting approval of a letter of support for Happy Can’s Solid Waste Processing and Transfer Facility to be consistent with the Genesee County Materials Management Plan (MMP), and for Board Chairperson Dale K. Weighill to sign the letter.
BACKGROUND:
Happy Can Disposal is registering as a Solid Waste Processing and Transfer Facility at 120 S. Center Rd, Flint, MI 48506. As required under Part 115 of the Act 451, the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, this facility must be consistent with the Genesee County Materials Management Plan. Currently, all Michigan counties are in the process of developing their first Materials Management Plan, and in the interim, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has established a process for determining consistency with the MMP. This process includes getting a letter of support from the local municipality and the county in which the development will be located for a proposed materials management facility.
DISCUSSION:
Staff is requesting approval of a letter of support, and for Board of Commissioners Chairperson Dale K. Weighill to sign the letter regarding Happy Can’s Solid Waste Processing and Transfer Facility to be consistent with the Genesee County Materials Management Plan. Genesee County’s written support will allow Happy Can to move to the next necessary steps of getting proper permitting and approval through EGLE. The City of Flint are in the process of preparing their own letter of support for the facility. A facility description summary has been included with the letter of support. Happy Can’s facility is approximately 16,020 square feet in size on a property of about 8 acres. The processing and transfer facility will be 3,000 square feet of the total building. The facility will process about 200 cubic yards per day. This includes household and commercial solid waste such as cardboard, wood, non-hazardous construction debris, drywall, panel board, roofing, and metal along with various types of paper materials from residential commercial. The facility will serve Genesee County and currently employs 12 local individuals and continues to expand that number as they grow. EGLE has been to the facility and found it to be fit for the use of the under 200 cubic yards per day as Happy Can continues to work closely with EGLE to stay at the forefront of regulation and requirement standards.
IMPACT ON HUMAN RESOURCES:
No impact on human resources.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
No impact on budget. This approval is only for a letter of support, the development is entirely funded by Happy Can.
IMPACT ON FACILITIES:
No impact on facilities. This facility is entirely owned and operated by Happy Can, this letter of support is to provide consistency of the site with the Genesee County Materials Management Plan.
IMPACT ON TECHNOLOGY:
No impact on technology.
CONFORMITY TO COUNTY PRIORITIES:
To meet Genesee County’s priority of healthy, livable, and safe communities, this project will support Happy Can’s Solid Waste Processing and Transfer Facility. This facility provides Genesee County with a much-needed local solution for recycling, reducing landfill waste and supporting circular economy, ultimately promoting environmental stewardship.
resolution
TO THE HONORABLE CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS OF THE GENESEE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
BE IT RESOLVED, by this Board of County Commissioners of Genesee County, Michigan, that the request by the Director of Planning to authorize sending a letter of support for Happy Can’s Solid Waste Processing and Transfer Facility to be consistent with the Genesee County Materials Management Plan is approved (a copy of the memorandum request and supporting documentation being on file with the official records of the March 11, 2026 meeting of the Community and Economic Development Committee of this Board), and the Chairperson of this Board is authorized to sign the Letter of Support on behalf of Genesee County.