By Staff
So what if you just throw away your blue Michigan license plate, when you replace your plate on your vehicle with the new style.
It is just one thin metal plate.
Now times that plate by the 5.6 million currently in circulation and throwing these away becomes more of a problem.
The Secretary of State began replacing the standard blue license plate on Jan. 1 of this year.
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is concerned about what will happen to the old plates.
Motorists are being encouraged to find a way to recycle their old license plates, instead of just tossing them in the trash.
For those who have a curbside recycling program which takes scrap metal, they can add their old plate to the bin.
Some local recycling places will take the plates.
So will scrap metal recyclers.
Maybe a local artist or crafter will think of a way to use these blue plates.
Before recycling, cut the plate in half or bend a corner, so the plate is not reused by another.
The Michigan Department of Management and Budget plans to also recycle 8,000 plates from state-owned vehicles.
For more recycling ideas visit the DEQ Web site at http://www.michigan.gov/deq.
Or, call the DEQ Environmental Assistance Center at (800) 662-9278.