For Friday, May 24, 2019

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1 – Bay City is trying to get the word out on proper recycling, and proper disposal.

A directory online at BayCityRecycles.org allows you to type in the name of a waste item, and then tells you how to recycle or dispose of it.

For instance, a greasy pizza box goes in your trash container at the curb.

A pizza box that’s clean and empty with no food residue can be accepted for recycling at the curb.

A slice of pizza also goes in the trash, if you’re not in the mood to finish it.

A clean plastic bag can be recycled at grocery stores like Kroger and Meijer. It should otherwise go in your city trash container and not with your recyclables.

Items like plastic bags get tangled around sorting equipment, causing jams that require hours of manual removal of the items each day.

 

2 – You may want to consider going plastic free, or start reducing your use of plastics.

The Alliance for the Great Lakes has these tips:

• Use a reusable water bottle
• Bring reusable cutlery for your picnic
• Don’t celebrate with balloons. They float away from your picnic table and end up in lakes. Balloons take years to decompose and the ribbon is an entanglement risk for animals.

Another tip:

• Skip the straw. Plastic straws are used for a few minutes but take nearly 200 years to break down, the Alliance says.

The Alliance for the Great Lakes organizes beach cleanups throughout Lake Huron and other Great Lakes. They’re online at greatlakes.org.

– Mr. Great Lakes is heard Friday mornings in Bay City, Michigan, on Delta College Q-90.1 FM NPR. Follow @jeffkart on Twitter #MrGreatLakes

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