GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — These days, Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley spends most of his work week in Flint. His most recent project there is making sure that the response to the water crisis doesn’t cause another problem.

The immediate priority in the wake of the crisis was getting as much fresh water to Flint as possible, which meant shipment upon shipment of bottled water.

But that created another question: What to do with all that plastic after the water is used?

Calley recently unveiled a plan that may help take care of all those bottles and provide a longer lasting result that he says can be a legacy of recycling. Free recycling is now offered curbside or where people pick up their water.

“We’re doing our best to get as many of those water bottles — literally millions of water bottles — back into recycling,” Calley told 24 Hour News 8. “There’s value in that material itself, but the more immediate need, more immediate concern is how do we make sure that there is not a detrimental impact to the environment because of the crisis response itself.”

The recycling is being handled by a number of different companies. Calley hopes the effort will continue in Flint well after the crisis is resolved.—Inside woodtv.com:How you can help the people of FlintComplete coverage of the Flint water crisis