Challenge accepted

KORC recycling drive

KEWEENAW COUNTY -- The Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition (KORC) will host a week-long volunteer metal recycling drive beginning Thursday through Oct. 29, explicitly challenging the community to surpass the 4,300 pounds of debris collected during the organization’s spring cleanup initiative, according to KORC Marketing and Outreach Manager Bryce Holden.

The upcoming drive targets the removal of discarded scrap metal from parks, nature preserves, trails, roadsides and public beaches across Keweenaw County.

Organizers have established two collection trailers for volunteers to deposit recovered scrap metal. The first trailer will be stationed at Gratiot Lake, located at 5269 Gratiot Lake Road, across the entire duration of the drive from October 22 to October 29. A second collection trailer will be deployed exclusively on Thursday, October 29, in the east parking lot of the Cliff View Bar along US-41 in Phoenix.

The initiative follows KORC's sixth annual spring cleanup in May, where more than 75 volunteers successfully cleared 4,300 pounds of refuse and 27 abandoned tires from area camps and shorelines. According to Holden, the total volume of debris recovered routinely shifts based on the types of historical deposits volunteers encounter in the woods, with many collections drawing from decades-old legacy dumps filled with metal and glass.

In previous annual cleanup campaigns, coalition members utilizing private trailers have retrieved entire abandoned vehicles from local forests alongside routine trash. Past operations have successfully increased from an early baseline of 3,600 pounds of refuse up to the nearly three-ton record secured during the 2025 autumnal drive.

According to KORC collection guidelines, accepted items include empty metal containers, barrels, scrap iron, cans, old culverts, rebar, wire, chain, old hand tools, and appliances. The drive cannot accept automotive batteries or electronic scrap due to disposal regulations.

After the spring cleanup in May, there was a cookout in the Community Park in Copper Harbor hosted by the Mariner North. To conclude the fall cleanup, the coalition is teaming up with the Cliff View Bar to host a complimentary dinner from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 29. The meal program is open to any volunteer who contributes scrap metal to either collection site at any point during the week-long initiative.