Innovakote’s work in recycling powder coating locally has received the largest EGLE grant awarded a private business this year from Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) at $273,000.
Brian Spicer and Dwayne Behrens.“We have a vision to take the 2 billion lbs. of excess powder coating dumped or burned every year, and put it to good use,” says Brian Spicer, who runs the company with Dwayne Behrens. “This allows us to start at home in West Michigan, where about four to six million lbs go to landfills annually.”
Innovakote will primarily invest the grant money on highly-specialized equipment that takes discarded powder coating and turns 100% of it back into virgin powder coating.
“It’s exciting to know that we will be making Michigan greener while offering a product that meets every level of quality,” said Behrens. “There’s no reason Michigan can’t lead the way in making powder coating a cyclical economy.”
The net effects of the initiative will not only keep powder coating out of landfills, incinerators and the water table, it will also decrease the industry’s carbon footprint because its process doesn’t require the raw materials to be mined or extracted.
“We are a Michigan company hiring Michigan people, and doing what we can to keep Michigan both green and profitable,” said Spicer.
This grant is part of an initiative from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state legislators to double Michigan’s recycling rate to 30% by 2025 and ultimately reach 45% annually. Michigan’s current 15% recycling rate is the lowest in the Great Lakes region and ranks among the nation’s lowest.
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