Neglecting to pick up pet waste can contaminate water and threaten public health.
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Since China won’t buy recyclables, centers look for local markets
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Recycling centers adapting to the loss of China as a market might take a look at what has been going on in Michigan’s Emmet County for decades.
Waste
Website tracks balloon debris in the Great Lakes
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A university researcher is tracking balloon litter in the Great Lakes region to spread awareness of how it harms the environment.
Waste
Golf ball pollution creates jobs for people with disabilities
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While microplastics get plenty of attention as a Great Lakes pollutant, researchers say there is not enough information to know if these macroplastic golf balls pose similar harm in freshwater systems.
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New technology doesn’t settle old arguments over large dairies
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Indiana recently granted a permit to build a large organic dairy about an hour south of Lake Michigan. Local environmental groups are skeptical and fear the potential for groundwater contamination.
Waste
Michigan communities get state money to collect scrap tires
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The round-up of scrap tires, known to be both fire and mosquito hazards, is the goal of almost $1 million in state grants awarded recently by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
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With plastics, the message is the bottle
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Microplastics are showing up in sediments as well as water.
Waste
Michigan tries to boost recycling rate, but critics argue it won’t be enough
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Michigan is offering grants of up to $500,000 to improve local recycling programs. When Emmet County got a similar state grant, it bought new and bigger recycling bins for curbside pickup. The amount of recycling jumped. That’s the kind of improvement the state is hoping for with the new round of grants because its recycling rate is way below national averages.
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Infrared cameras will track PFAS contamination from Wurtsmith Air Force Base
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A wireless all-weather infrared camera system will be placed around Van Etten Lake in Oscoda Township to detect PFAS discharge from the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base.
Waste
Mining legacy, wetlands expansion fuel concern over U.P. mercury levels
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The increase of wetlands is a major contributor to the problem because mercury can accumulate in them in higher concentrations and for longer periods.
Capital News Service
Campaign against plastic straws picks up speed
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Americans use lots and lots of plastic straws, and that’s bad for the environment.