How Michiganders can help the environment on Earth Day

In Santa Barbara, in 1969, a massive oil spill off the coast killed thousands of animals and turned local beaches black. Those images stuck with a Wisconsin senator named Gaylord Nelson, and it gave him an idea. Inspired by the anti-war protests happening on college campuses, Nelson wanted to bring that same energy to the environment. He called it a national teach-in. They picked April 22, a weekday between spring break and final exams, to get as many students involved as possible. And on April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day, 20 million Americans took to the streets. That was 10% of the entire U.S. population at the time. It worked. By the end of that year, Congress created the Environmental Protection Agency and passed the Clean Air Act. Fast forward to today -- more than one billion people in 192 countries now participate in Earth Day every year, making it the largest secular day of protest on the planet. And Michigan was right in the middle of it as well and has been. There is something else to celebrate on this Earth Day. Michigan set a new recycling milestone for the fifth straight year. According to EGLE, the state’s recycling rate is up to 26%. It’s close to the goal of 30% by the year 2029. Michiganders recycled more than 800-thousand tons last year. To put it into perspective, it’s enough to fill Ford Field, the Big House, and the Detroit Zoo. Madison Gladney, the community engagement coordinator with Green Living Science, which is a program dedicated to helping teach kids about recycling and conservation, and Natalie Jakub, the executive director for Green Living Science, joined Local 4 Live to talk about recycling and the work being done to educate Michiganders and Detroiters about recycling and waste.