Beaver Island | St. James Twp., MI

The Team: Beaver Island is the most remote inhabited island in the Great Lakes, sitting 32 miles from the city of Charlevoix in Lake Michigan. Travel to and from the island is accomplished by ferry or airplane. The island is 58 square miles with a year round population of approximately 600 people, however summer visitors can increase that to a few thousand people.

NextCycle Michigan Project: The island’s transfer station/recycling center presently processes and ships nearly all waste via barge to the mainland. The Beaver Island team is focusing on developing an organics/food waste collection program and processing operation on the island with goals of increasing recycling/recovery and decreasing costs.

Additional Information:

• Website - www.beaverisland.org

• Article - Taking Out the Trash on Remote Beaver Island Requires a Drive (MLive, Aug 2023)