A Message from Our Leader:  2024 Marked 60 Years in Business

Commit to Being More Environmentally Conscious

Some of the Best Inventions of 2024

Real Christmas Trees Have a Second Life

Upcoming Conferences

• Northeast Aquatic Plant Management Society 26th Annual Meeting
• Midwest Aquatic Plant Management Society 45th Annual Conference
• Virginia Lakes & Watersheds Association Annual Conference
• Pennsylvania Lake Management 35th Annual Conference

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Making a Difference in Puerto Rico

How to Leave our Children a Better Planet

Biodiversity Becomes Smart Business

Millennials Call for Sustainable Future

Giving Tuesday

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Wands for Wildlife

Invasive Species Aid Invasive Species

12 Charities of Christmas

Reusing Seafood Processing Water

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August is Water Quality Month

Are Your Clothes Polluting the Ocean

Impact of Private Partnerships on Water Quality

Climate Change Affects Water Quality

Valuable Resources at Your Fingertips

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New Trash Skimmer: To Maintain Milwaukee’s Rivers and Harbor

Aquatic Weed Control

Lake Sustainability

Vegetation Identification

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But what would happen if you could no longer afford a cup of Joe or if it was no longer available?

Coffee is, in many ways, a poster child of an industry facing a future crisis. Most coffee is grown from two different species — arabica and robusta — but there are 122 other wild species. Coffee’s already limited range of tropical growing region will likely dwindle, and 60% of wild coffee species face extinction. Millions of hectares of crops risk being lost in the space of a few decades and 25 million coffee growers risk losing their means of subsistence.

In many other types of crops, there are seed companies that drive breeding and care about conserving genetic diversity, but that doesn’t exist in the coffee industry. There is a disconnect between the numerous coffee roasters and the breeders who could turn crop diversity into new varieties able to, for example, withstand a drought or resist the latest pest outbreak.

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EPA defines containers and packaging as products that are assumed to be discarded the same year the products they contain are purchased. Containers and packaging make up a major portion of municipal solid waste, amounting to 77.9 million tons of generation in 2015.

There are a number of things you can do to minimize packaging waste to help reduce the pollution caused by the packaging.

• Buy in bulk. Buying lots of smaller packs generates more waste.
• Always carry your own bags while shopping.
• Try to buy loose products where available. For instance, in case of vegetables and fruits.
• Opt for brands that have less packaging.
• Avoid buying bottled water unless tap water in your area is unsafe for drinking.

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Waste managers often call this wishful or aspirational recycling. But, unfortunately, putting these objects in with the rest of the recycling can do more harm than good. While rules differ in every municipality (check your local recycling website to find out what’s acceptable), we have picked out some key offenders to keep in mind.

Too many of these items will contaminate a batch of recycling. That means waste managers might not be able to find buyers for the materials — especially now that China, one of the world’s main importers of recyclable waste, has said it will reject shipments that are more than 0.5 percent impure. Contaminated loads could be sent to the landfill instead.

What could you be recycling incorrectly?  Check with your local recycler prior to

disposing the following items.

• Disposal Cups – many are lined with polyethylene which makes recycling difficult & expensive
• Pizza Boxes – the oil seeps into the cardboard fiber making it less valuable
• Yogurt Cups – there is little demand for plastics numbers 3 – 7
• Takeout Containers – the containers themselves may be fine, but be sure to rinse all food scrap away
• Plastic Bags – can only be sent to special facilities, do not include with your everyday recycling as they plug up machinery

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So, what can be an effective measure to combat or eliminate plastics from ending up in coastlines, rivers, lakes, and oceans? It may be daring for most, but ocean privatization is the way to go.

Water capitalism implies that there would be private ownership of oceans, rivers, lakes, and aquifers.

When something is unowned, there is very little incentive to maintain, preserve, or defend it. On the other hand, when something is privately owned, we do our very best to maintain, preserve, or defend it. This is why private property is typically better than public housing, or why private transportation is generally more bearable than government transit.

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