Recorded live during pledge drive – Friday, Sept. 15, 2023

1 – The “biggest Great Lakes day of action” is coming up on Saturday, Sept. 23. 

That’s when thousands of Adopt-a-Beach volunteers will fan out to shorelines as part of the International Coastal Cleanup. 

Volunteers will be on all five Great Lakes, joining other cleanups going on around the world. 

Regional events are being organized with help from the Alliance for the Great Lakes. 

Seventeen cleanups are planned in Michigan for Sept. 23. A private cleanup in East Tawas on Lake Huron is set for Sept. 22.

You can find or create a cleanup online at adopt.greatlakes.org. 

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2 – Michigan is getting more than $500,000 in federal money to expand recycling infrastructure and waste management systems across the state. 

Federal officials say the money will go toward improving solid waste management planning and data collection in Michigan. 

The funding is part of the largest recycling investment in 30 years by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Grants of up to $750,000 are going to all U.S. states and territories. 

Officials say Michigan will complete education and outreach efforts to transition from a focus on disposal capacity to a focus on sustainable materials management. 

There’s a national goal to increase the U.S. recycling rate to 50 percent by 2030. Michigan’s recycling rate is now at around 21 percent. 

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3 – Mysterious seeds from China are in the news again. 

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is getting reports of consumers receiving unsolicited packages in the mail containing seeds from China. Similar cases were reported in 2020. 

A department director says that if you receive unsolicited seeds from another country, do not open the package or plant the seeds. 

Government testing of the packages has identified hundreds of seed varieties, including noxious weeds, cannabis, vegetables and flowers.

Officials say the packages may be part of what’s called a “brushing” scam used to bolster online product ratings. A person receives the seeds and then someone else submits positive, verified reviews on their behalf. 

Anyone who receives the seeds is asked to contact the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Customer Service Center.

– Mr. Great Lakes is heard on Friday mornings in Bay City, Michigan, on Delta College Public Radio 90.1 FM (listen live). Follow @jeffkart on Twitter #MrGreatLakes

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