Great Lakes Echo (http://greatlakesecho.org/tag/recycling/)
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.
Local officials investigate city’s potential as the center of a deconstruction industry. It’s deep water port could play a role.
It targets lunchroom waste and school supplies.
Local officials say they need funds for special processing equipment for waste that otherwise degrades recycled products and causes expensive disposal problems.
Supporters of the ban say a statewide law is needed to avoid patchwork regulation that hinders businesses with multiple locations.
A new robot could change the game for shoreline trash collection. It will be put to the test this summer in Toronto before going on a mission to clean up an island in Lake Ontario.
The proposal aims to expand the 40-year-old beverage deposit law to include noncarbonated drinks, with the exceptions of dairy and dairy substitute products.
Barbara Lucas for WEMU’s The Green Room investigates why Michigan’s Washtenaw County is looking into a reusable bag ordinance.
You could win a copy of Beth Dooley’s “In Winter’s Kitchen.” Check out our recipes and help us build an electronic box of recipes of winter-themed meals.
Michigan may authorize new uses for toxic coal ash by Great Lakes Echo
One of the bills that cleared the Michigan legislature this session was a provision that allows certain bio-waste materials to be re-used for beneficial purposes. These substances include things like cement kiln dust, wood pulp and coal ash. Coal ash is the leftover residue from coal burned by electric power plants. The bill permits coal ash to be used in road construction, but it may also be used in agriculture as a fertilizer supplement, causing some environmental advocates to become concerned. Current State’s Kevin Lavery speaks with Republican State Representative Wayne Schmidt, the bill’s main sponsor, who strongly states that coal ash is completely safe and does not pose any environmental threats.
