Homepage Featured
High schooler inspires bill to ban balloon litter
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Trash and other types of marine debris are a significant concern in the Great Lakes region and internationally, and balloons are one piece of that puzzle.
Contaminants
Michigan expanding PFAS testing capacity
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The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy is expanding its testing capacity for monitoring a family of so-called “forever chemicals” called PFAS.
Contaminants
Michigan polluter ordered to jail for illegally discharging untreated waste
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By Eric Freedman
A federal judge has sentenced a Flint, Michigan, polluter to one year behind bars for illegally discharging more than 47 million gallons of untreated waste into the city’s sewer system. Robert Massey, the 70-year-old president and owner of family-owned Oil Chem Inc., pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act over an 8½ year period between 2007 and 2015. “That amounts to over 72 Olympic-size swimming pools. The crime was driven by greed. Oil Chem received over a million dollars to dispose of the (material),” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in its sentencing memorandum to U.S. District Judge Stephanie Davis.
Waste
Algae may vacuum microplastics, but also indicates greater health threat
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A type of algae that a recent study found collects microfibers brings up questions about microplastic pollution impacts and how it could affect human health.
Homepage Featured
Pandemic, China trash-ban push recyclers to robots
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There is an emerging new worker that could make a career out of sorting recyclables: robots.
Waste
New uses for cherry pits makes landfilling a “waste of a waste”
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Michigan’s cherry industry may have a way to make money from, of all things, the pits.
Homepage Featured
From lakes to shores, microplastics are spreading everywhere
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Microplastic particles, typically studied as aquatic pollutants, are also common in coastal dunes on Great Lakes’ shorelines, according to a new study.
COVID-19
Project begins testing sewage for COVID-19 across Michigan
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Michigan is searching the state’s sewers for the virus that causes COVID-19.
Urban
Scooping poop improves water quality
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Neglecting to pick up pet waste can contaminate water and threaten public health.
Birds
Microplastics are filling the Great Lakes and birds’ bellies
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Researchers found man-made debris in the stomachs of baby cormorants from both urban and remote areas.