Attend: Milwaukee Riverkeeper's 29th Annual Spring Cleanup

This spring, join together in a community-wide effort across Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties to remove over 100,000 pounds of trash from our river system during the 29th Annual Milwaukee Riverkeeper Spring Cleanup! Milwaukee Riverkeeper provides the gloves, trash bags and FREE T-SHIRTS, you provide the people power, and together we will restore our waterways!  Afterward, you can head over to Rock the Green from 12-3 pm to celebrate!

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Support: The Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act 

Tiny plastic pellets called “nurdles” are being dumped into our environment by the millions — and often, the companies doing the dumping face no penalty. Join organizations such as Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Wisconsin Environment, and WISPIRG in urging your U.S. senators to keep this plastic pollution out of our rivers, lakes and oceans by supporting the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act today.

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Register: Plastic Pollution Coalition's Webinar: People vs. Plastics

The Plastic Pollution Coalition will be holding a webinar on April 17th at 4 pm in collaboration with Earth Day Network. They will discuss the impacts of plastics on human health and implications for the UN Plastics Treaty negotiations with an emphasis on officials to take a stronger stance on the Treaty. The next Plastics Treaty talks are approaching (April 23-29 in Canada) and they are asking the government to address the harms that plastic has on our health. 

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Plastic-Free MKE Awarded Community of the Year!

Plastic-Free MKE has won the 2024 Reusies Award for Community of the Year! "This year's recipients for Community and Activist of the Year were chosen by a panel of experts and influential voices across the plastic pollution and climate movements." Thank you, Upstream and thank you to all of our volunteers, partners, coalition members, businesses, and supporters who have helped us achieve this honor – we wouldn’t have made it this far without you! Stay tuned for our featured story on the Indisposable Podcast this year!

Read the press release here!

An industry study about New Jersey’s plastic bag ban is an example of how to stay vigilant against misinformation

“...the study was paid for by the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, a group that lobbies against plastic bag bans across the country. Dr. Travis Wagner...called the study “just a poor piece of misinformation.” He said the source of some of their data is unclear and that the study was not peer-reviewed."

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Taxpayers subsidize plastics plants that violate pollution standards, report says

"Over the last decade, the number of plants that use fossil fuels to make plastics has grown across the U.S. A new report finds those plants routinely break environmental laws even as they receive large subsidies from taxpayers."

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Should the reuse movement continue to pursue cup fees?

“She emphasized that reuse policy needs wholehearted involvement and buy-in of the community it affects. No matter the municipality, she pointed out that the burden of the fees falls on low-income and marginalized communities who often do not have the capacity to BYO, much less pay a single-use fee."

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UWM School of Freshwater Sciences:  The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences is dedicated to preserving, protecting, and advocating for our Great Lakes, other freshwater ecosystems, and everyone interacting with them. Their dedication to research, community engagement, teaching, and career development makes a huge difference in our community by informing policy, improving water management, and promoting the health and sustainability of freshwater systems. They have several programs offered to undergraduate and graduate students with the opportunity to conduct independent research. We also applaud the school for including research on plastics and their effect on fish, freshwater ecosystems, and human health.