The National Cherry Festival has shaken off another bit of old baggage.
Waste Management, the company that hauled away the mounds of garbage the festival produced this year, said about 9 tons of material was recycled instead of being dumped in a landfill.
That's a 7 percent increase from last year and is believed to be a record amount.
Back in 2004 the Festival, pleading poverty, dropped its recycling program, which had cost about $9,000. When the public raised a ruckus, the Festival, DTE and Waste Management teamed up to bring it back.
This year the program was expanded to include drinking cups, biodegradable bags at the so-called "green centers" and reusable pie plates at off-site events.
In all, about 33 percent of the roughly 27 tons of waste was recycled, compared to 26 percent last year. An additional 1,500 pounds of material was composted.
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