For Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

1 – How many cardboard boxes do you have? 

Are they stacked up around the house? Are they wrapped under the tree? 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, Michigan’s environmental agency has some tips on cardboard recycling.

What can you put into the recycling bin? Anything, really. But what should you put into the recycling bin? 

The “yes” category includes tissue boxes, paper towel and toilet paper rolls, and cardboard packaging and food boxes that you keep in the pantry. Even pasta boxes with windows are OK. 

What about holiday boxes? Flatten the cardboard. Tape, staples and labels are OK, but remove as much as you can. No food residue or grease stains are acceptable, which means the tops of pizza boxes may be OK but usually not the bottoms. 

Every community has different recycling rules, so be sure to check with your local provider. 

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2 – It’s time to count the birds. 

The 126th Annual Christmas Bird Count started Dec. 14 and goes through Jan. 5. The citizen science project involves more than 2,800 “count circles” around the world, including at least 10 along Saginaw Bay. 

Data gathered helps inform conservation strategies and protects birds in a rapidly changing climate. 

That’s according to the National Audubon Society, which coordinates the event. To sign up and participate, go online to ChristmasBirdCount.org. 

Last year’s 125th event broke a record for the number of count circles worldwide, with a total of 2,693. Thirty nine new species were added to the count in 2024, mostly documented in newly established counts in Peru. 

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3 – Sea lampreys, native to the Atlantic Ocean, are an invasive species in the Great Lakes. 

They latch on to fish, feed on their blood and bodily fluids, and can consume up to 40 pounds of fish in 12 to 18 months. 

The Great Lakes Commission says ongoing lampricide treatments are highly effective in controlling sea lamprey populations.

A year-end report notes that adult lampreys increased this year in Lake Superior, but decreased in Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. 

A major takeaway: Lamprey numbers appear to have returned to levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, when lampricide treatments were limited during 2020 and 2021.

– Mr. Great Lakes is heard at 6:45 and 8:45 Friday mornings on Delta College Public Radio 90.1 FM WUCX in University Center, Michigan, near Bay City (listen live). Follow @jeffkart on Twitter #MrGreatLakes