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Ever wonder what happens to your recyclables once they leave the curb? In this episode, we tour WM's Cleveland Material Recycling Facility (MRF) and speak with Frank Fello, Area Vice President, who shares what happens at the MRF and why it is important to Recycle Right.

WM (Formerly, Waste Management) is one of North America’s leading providers of solid waste management services. The facility we toured is located in Oakwood Village, Ohio, and recently underwent a $30 million upgrade. It is one of the four material recycling facilities operating in Ohio that receive recyclables collected from northeast Ohio’s curbside and drop-off recycling programs. At these MRFs, mixed bottles, cans, paper, and cardboard are sorted, baled, and sent to manufacturers to be made into new products.

Stay tuned to learn what can and cannot be recycled curbside and why, plus where your recyclables are sent after they are sorted and processed (hint: it's not China). Also hear how landfill gas powers WM's collection vehicles and other sustainability initiatives.

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Watch the MRF in action

Recycle Right in Cuyahoga County, Geauga County, Lorain County, Summit County and Medina County

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Ever wonder about those freighters on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland's Flats? Watching them navigate our crooked river is such a unique experience. More than 600 feet long, they share the shipping channel with recreational boaters, kayakers, and paddleboarders as they transport ore upriver to our steel mills. For this episode, Greg and I sat down with Kate Wells, Manager of Environmental Stewardship and Quality for the Interlake Steamship Company, to hear about the ship, sustainability in Great Lakes shipping, and the importance of this industry to our region. Later, we climbed (literally) aboard the Mark W Barker and spoke with Captain Alex Weber about life on board, what it's like to navigate the Cuyahoga, and maritime careers. The Mark W Barker is the newest in the fleet of ten vessels owned by Interlake Steamship. This second-generation, family-run company is based in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, and has the largest privately held U.S.-flag fleet on the Lakes. Interlake has been in business for over 100 years; today, it is one of the most efficient and environmentally responsible shipping companies in the industry, moving 20 million tons of cargo annually. While we were on board, we watched loaders fill the holds with taconite pellets to be delivered up the Cuyahoga to Cleveland Cliffs. Just one load could fill 700 train cars or 2,800 trucks, making it the most efficient way to transport raw materials to industry. Whether you are a "boat nerd", a Clevelander, or curious about the Great Lakes, this episode is a must.

Learn more:

About The Interlake Steamship Company

About the Mark W Barker

Marine Traffic app

Green Marine certification

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Summer is here, and we're at the Mastery School of Hawken's Native Plant Sale in University Circle for an Eco Bite with Nick Fletcher. Nick is a high school Latin teacher who started one of the most practical environmental education projects around - the Hawken Native Plant Society. Along with his colleague Claudia Tausz and students of all grade levels, Nick oversees the cultivation of more than 230 plant species native to Northeast Ohio. The plants help improve habitat across three campuses and are also donated to nonprofit partners for restoration efforts. Plant sales are held at the Mastery School campus all summer, with proceeds benefiting this work.

This experiential learning grew out of COVID, when Nick took his Latin classes outdoors and began observing nature on campus. This led him to help plant gardens at his daughter's school and then grow a few seedlings on campus. Nick never grew anything until then, and today, he oversees a registered nursery with hundreds of thriving plants, plus the challenges that come with it, like keeping a greenhouse full of seedlings alive through summer heat. Nick shares how students across grade levels get involved through classes, garden club, and hands-on field days where kids research a plant, collect and sort seeds, pot seedlings, and plant new native gardens.

Nick believes in making space for other species besides our own, and he and his students see the payoff: native bees showing up, insect life returning, and host plants doing their job.

Email Nick - nativeplants@hawken.edu

Learn More: Hawken Native Plant Society and Sales, Hawken Native Gardens,

The Nature of Oaks by Douglas Tallamy

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