Our Team

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 of 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, Chair
William Dohm, Little Traverse Township Supervisor, Vice Chair
Doug Fuller, Secretary
Arden Bawkey, Emmet County Drain Commissioner
Brian Gutowski, Emmet County Commissioner
Don Mapes, Emmet County Commissioner
Jim Kargol, Emmet County Road Commission Appointee


DPW County Employees

Jayna Steffel, Director
Ashley McMurry, Deputy Director
Josh Brubacher, Operations Manager
Lindsey Walker, Recycling Outreach, Market Development and Commercial Accounts – 231-348-0648
MacKenzie Kilmer, Administrative Assistant (accounts payable and receivable)
Noelle Behling, Communication & Education Coordinator
Natalie Gibbons, Sustainability & Resources Coordinator

DPW Attendants & Drivers

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

Dwight Burdine
Sam Daily
Craig Develasco
Roger Duffiney
Adam Machelski
Earl Marshall
Lauri Robinson
Russ Schwartz
Nate Sherman
Jim Shively
Grady Smyley

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.)

Jim Baker
Kelsey Boda
John Delis
Matt Groover
Dave Krasiejko
Adam Morey
Jaime Pethers
Justin “Shrew” Pethers-Clear
Justin Skop
Michael Williams


Solid Waste Ordinance 11-04

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