Metropolitan Transfer Center

Metropolitan Transfer Center is a transfer station in Hamtramck where residential trash gets compacted and loaded onto larger trucks for haul out of the city. Neighbors drop off loads here instead of driving all the way to a landfill. It’s used mostly by people with car or small trailer loads who want a quicker trip than the distant dumps.

Drive up to a gated entrance with a small booth and a scale; trucks and trailers share the same lanes so watch for backing vehicles. The site is industrial-looking-large concrete bays, compactors, and semi-trucks maneuvering around; expect noise and diesel smells. Cars and small trailers usually pull into a line, get weighed, then proceed to a tipping area where the load is emptied into a compactor. Bottles and cans in Michigan have a deposit program, so some items might be handled differently than at a typical curbside pickup.