About Us

You care about your friends, family and community.
You care about nature and the great outdoors.
You care about Michigan.
And, yes, you care about your wallet.

We do, too.

So together, we do the simple, everyday thing that addresses all these: recycling.
More and more, we also reduce waste, replace disposable items with reusables, and compost.

Thank you for recycling with us and joining us on the journey to a circular economy.

Your DPW Team

DPW Board

Dennis Keiser, Bear Creek Township Supervisor, Chair
William Dohm, Little Traverse Township Supervisor, Vice Chair

Arden Bawkey, Emmet County Drain Commissioner
Doug Fuller, Member at Large
Dave Bachelor, Emmet County Commissioner
Charlie MacInnis, Emmet County Commissioner
Mark Hoffman, Emmet County Road Commission Appointee

2021 Note

We extend condolences to the to the families of
board member Bert Notestine and
long-time board member and “Pillar of the Program” award winner Jack Jones
who both passed this year. We are grateful for their service to the DPW and miss them both.

DPW County Employees

Andi Tolzdorf, Director – 231-348-0640
Wendy Fought, Superintendent – 231-526-2031 x6
Josh Brubacher, Operations Manager – 231-526-2031 x7
Ashley Bur, Assistant to the Director – 231-348-0640
Kate Melby, Communications and Education Coordinator – 231-348-0640
Jayna Steffel, Administrative Secretary (accounts payable and receivable) – 231-348-0640
Lindsey Walker, Recycling Outreach (curbside recycling and composting for businesses, market development and relations) – 231-348-0648

DPW “Attendants”

(They serve our customers, operate the waste transfer station and drive the recycling trucks.)

Roger Duffiney
Harold Evans
Mark Freske
John Harrington
Nate Hopkins
Earl Marshall
Theo Marshall
Lauri Robinson
Russ Schwartz
Grady Smyley
Jon Zoerhof

Recycle Processing Team

(They sort your recyclables, bale and store them, and then load them on to semis. The recyclables then go to factories where they are used to make new, everyday products.)

Kelsey Boda
Justin Clear
John Delis
Zack Elya
Eric Franklin
Adam Morey
Gary Moyer
Jaime Pethers
Paige Simard
Michael Williams
Molly Zoerhof

Annual Report: The Whole Works

Our annual report to the Emmet County Board of Commissioners summarizes the biggest developments and highlights of the last year. We call it The Whole Works 2020. For past Annual Reports, visit our History page.

Solid Waste Ordinance 11-04

Emmet County’s new Solid Waste Ordinance 11-04 replaces the previous 99-40 Solid Waste Ordinance.