Contents 

• Clean Water Campaign – Our Water, Our Future, Ours to Protect
• Orion Environmental Resources Printable List
• Eagle Valley Recycling Center
• Household Hazardous Waste (NO HAZ Events)
• Local Non-Profit Organizations
• Is Today An Ozone Action Day?
• Paper Recycling
• Appliance Recycling
• Garbage Haulers
• Seasonal Christmas Tree Recycling
• Clean Sweep Program
• Local Recycling Sites 
• Check Out the New Earth 911 Recycling Locater Link for more options!
• Helpful Websites
• Phragmites is an Invasive Species Problem in Orion Wetlands
• Gypsy Moth Control
• Emerald Ash Borer (EAB)
• Environmental Resources Committee

Clean Water Campaign – Our Water, Our Future, Ours to Protect

The Southeast Michigan Partners for Clean Water formed to engage the public in activities that protect our water resources through continued awareness, knowledge, and action. The partnership includes representatives from SEMCOG, various counties, communities, watershed councils, and water-quality professionals in Southeast Michigan.

Clinton River Watershed Clean Up Dates – Click Here for Details

Orion Environmental Resources Printable List

A printable list of environmental information for Orion residents - Orion Environmental Flyer October 2015

Eagle Valley Recycling Center

600 W. Silverbell Rd., (248) 391-0990
Hours: Mon-Fri, 7:00 am – 3:30 pm; Sat, 8:00-11:30 am (call first if raining)

Orion residents may drop off household recyclables at Eagle Valley free of charge. This is a great solution if you missed a week, have a large amount of cardboard due to a move, or a large mixed metal item that will not fit in your curbside bin. Click here for information on what is accepted. PLEASE NOTE: Polystyrene and Plastic bags are NO LONGER ACCEPTED at Eagle Valley's Recycling Drop-off Center per the RRRASOC recycling facility we deliver recyclables to - located at 8 Mile and Evergreen). Polystyrene is accepted at SOCRRA in Royal Oak located on Coolidge between 14 and 15 Mile roads. Plastic bags can be returned to most local grocery stores.

Waste Management also sponsors Free Disposal Days for Orion residents (must show ID). The first one is held the Saturday after Memorial Day, and the second is the Saturday after Labor Day. Residents must show proof of residency. Check with the landfill for prohibited disposal items (i.e., no tires, no Freon containing items, no yard waste, no liquids, no household hazardous waste).

Click Here for a Fact Sheet about Eagle Valley - Please call (248) 391-0990 for current hours, which change seasonally.
Click here for Curbside Collection Guidelines in Orion
Eagle Valley's Community Connection Newsletter

Additional educational information can be found at Waste Management’s website: www.thinkgreen.com. 

Household Hazardous Waste (NO HAZ Events) (248) 858-5656

Several Oakland county communities formed The North Oakland Household Hazardous Waste Consortium (NO HAZ) to provide residents with a safe, reliable and environmentally responsible way to dispose of household hazardous waste, at no cost to Orion Township Residents.

2017 Collection Dates

• Saturday, April 15, 8 am - 1 pm - Oxford Middle School, 1420 Lakeville Rd., Oxford - from M-24/Lapeer Road, travel east on Burdick Street (which then turns into Lakeville)
• Saturday, June 24, 8 am - 1 pm - Oakland University, Rochester. Parking lots 35 and 37 - enter campus on Pioneer Drive from Squirrel Road, south of University Drive.
• Saturday, July 22, 8 am - 2 pm - North Sashabaw Elementary School, 5290 Maybee Road, Clarkston
• Saturday, September 16, 8 am - 2 pm - Oakland Community College Highland Lakes Campus, 7350 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford - enter campus from Hospital Road
• Saturday, October 28, 8 am - 2 pm - Wildwood Amphitheater, Orion Township, 2700 Joslyn Court - enter from Joslyn Road only - new site configuration.

If you need disposal information in the meantime, please call (248) 858-1350 for suggestions.

For more information, visit www.nohaz.com.

Please note that many local businesses now accept a variety of hazardous waste items year-round. See the Local Recycling Sites list below for some great local resources.

Local Non-Profit Organizations

These organizations provide education or service and are always in need of tax-deductible donations and routinely seek voluteers:

• Clinton River Watershed Council
• Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center
• Moose Tree Nature Preserve 
• Organization for Bat Conservation
• Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy
• Polly Ann Trail 
• Paint Creek Trail 
• Friends of Bald Mountain
• Friends of the Orion Library
• Habitat for Humanity Restore
• Michigan Interfaith Power & Light

Is Today An Ozone Action Day?

Click Here to find out, and to find out what to do and not do on an Ozone Action! Day.

Paper Recycling

The green and yellow bin in Civic Center Park, behind the Township Hall, is for these paper items only: newspapers, magazines, catalogs, junk mail, office and school papers, and shredded paper (in tied light-weight plastic bags only). Proceeds collected benefit recycling projects in Orion Township. More Info…

Appliance Recycling

If you use DTE Energy and Consumers Energy you may be eligible for a rebate program that also hauls away older large appliances that are still working. To learn more, click here or call (866) 796-0512.

Garbage Haulers

The Township currently allows residents to select their own hauler from a list of haulers registered with Orion Township. Click here to view this list of contact information for licensed haulers that is located on the Clerk’s Office page.

Seasonal Christmas Tree Recycling

Your fresh cut trees can be dropped off at the Orion Oaks Park north entrance off Clarkston Road through January 20 of each year. Oakland County Parks processes the trees to make compost and wood chips with no cost to you. Free wood chips are available to the public at Orion Oaks on select dates. Plastic, tinsel and wire must be removed. Large quantities from commercials lots will not be accepted.

Clean Sweep Program

The Township will reimburse residents one time per year, up to $25 of the cost to dispose of trash or debris at either Eagle Valley Landfill or Environmental Wood Solutions. Proof of Orion Township residency and a dated receipt, along with your name and address, must be submitted to the Township Clerk’s office.

Local Recycling Sites

For year-round disposal of special recyclables and some hazardous waste. If you know of a local business that recycles one or more products and would like to be added to this list, please let us know.

Check Out the New Earth 911 Recycling Locater Link for more options! 

Helpful Websites

• General Environmental Information in Michigan: www.michigan.gov/deq
• Want to learn about toxins and specific companies WITHOUT bias from advertisers? Visit www.ewg.org
• Banish junk mail – reduce your share of mailbox trash! www.dmaconsumers.org or send a card with your name, address & signature to: Mail Preference Service, DMA, Box 643, Carmel NY 10512
• Rechargeable Batteries: www.call2recycle.org (or 1-800-8-BATTERY)
• Polystyrene or “Packing Peanuts”: www.dartcontainer.com
• Computer Diskettes: www.greendisk.com
• Orion Township Ordinances 

Know of any other good recycling websites? Let us know!

Phragmites is an Invasive Species Problem in Orion Wetlands

Phragmities (frag-MY-teez), also known as common reed, is a perennial, wetland grass that can grow up to 15′ in height and is replacing 3′ tall patches of cattails which are valuable to local fauna. Newly established growth is easiest to control with frequent brush cutting. Burning must be administered by professionals. A DNRE permit is required for herbicide application below the high water mark, even in a dry season. For more information on this and other invasive species, click here. To view photos of Phragmites in Michigan, click here.

Gypsy Moth Control

Videos and bulletins are available at the Orion Township Library. State of Michigan Information Link

Emerald Ash Borer (EAB)

The Emerald Ash Borer is a wood boring insect that kills Ash trees. They attack healthy Ash trees and kill them in one to four years, depending on their size. Adult beetles begin to emerge from infested trees around mid-May, because they have flat backs and rounded bellies their emergence holes are “D” shaped (honest). On average the female beetle lays roughly seventy-five eggs individually on the bark of trunks and branches of Ash trees. Eggs could be laid from mid-May through mid-August. The eggs hatch in about a week and the larvae tunnel under the bark, feeding and tunneling in the cambium area. This disrupts the transport of water and nutrients within the tree and branches begin to die as feeding progresses. Most EAB pass the winter as larvae inside the tree and then live two to four weeks as adult beetles once they emerge.

It is not yet known if trees already damaged by borers can be helped with insecticide treatments though it is recommended that if you have an infected tree with 50% or more canopy dieback it be felled and chipped to 1” or less. Dead trees that remain standing can pose a serious risk. Quarantine has been issued on all ash trees and ash wood products in Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Washtenaw and Wayne Counties to prevent and control the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer. Simply put it is illegal to move ash trees or its’ products, including firewood out of these areas unless certified for movement by the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA). The closest marshaling yard accepting dead Ash wood is the City of Pontiac Landfill and Compost Site at 575 Collier Road (call first to confirm acceptance). At this time there are no reimbursable or matching programs available to assist you with the cost of removing these trees.

Environmental Resources Committee

A group of citizens dedicated to the protection of our environment, as they study and make recommendations to the Township on environmental issues. Click here for more information