Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2023 winners
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Bioplastics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Perspective
Perspective
August 04, 2021 08:00 AM

Larry Bell: You can't brew good beer without good water

Larry Bell
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Two Hearted Ale14-Main_i.jpg
    Courtesy of Bell's Brewery Inc.
    Bottles of Bell's Brewery's Two Hearted IPA roll down the bottling line at the company's Comstock Brewery in Galesburg, Mich.
    More Crain's Forum

    They’re in your microbrew. They’re in your tap water. They end up in the bellies of your lake trout. They get between your toes as you scramble up and slide down shoreline dunes.

    They’re microplastics. They are getting into your body. And they’re coming from a source that’s a lot closer to home than you think.

    This month's Crain's Forum, a joint project of Crain's Detroit Business and Crain's Chicago Business, examines the Great Lakes' plastic problem.

    Swimming in plastic: How Great Lakes plastic pollution is showing up in fish, birds and your beer glass

    Tracking plastic in the Great Lakes

    Reducing Great Lakes plastic pollution won't be easy; here's what can be done

    Shareholders raise pressure on big brands over plastic pollution

    Bill targets plastic pellet polluters; industry group sees it as an 'overreach'

    Jennifer Caddick: Put responsibility for cutting plastic in manufacturers' hands

    Andrea Densham: Hold plastic producers responsible ‘for the pollution they create'

    Larry Bell: You can't brew good beer without good water

    Commentary: Lift bans on banning plastic bags to cut down on Great Lakes microplastics pollution

     

    Larry Bell is the founder and president of Bell’s Brewery and co-chair of the Great Lakes Business Network.

    Our Great Lakes face a growing number of threats that demand urgent action from all of us fortunate enough to live in this part of the world.

    As a business owner who relies on the purity of Great Lakes water by turning it — and hops, malts and other ingredients grown right here in Michigan — into craft brews, I take the sustainability of our business practices seriously.

    Whether it's making energy-efficiency improvements or new endeavors to address microplastics, Bell's Brewery works hard to minimize our impact on the Great Lakes.

    And as a co-chair of the Great Lakes Business Network—a coalition of businesses that advocate for Great Lakes protection—I know myself and fellow members are invested in addressing our water infrastructure issues and making the necessary improvements to ensure pollution, especially plastic pollution, doesn't reach our waterways.

    One issue of concern is the amount of plastic that is inadvertently released into the Great Lakes, degrading into small pieces called "microplastics" that accumulate in the food chain and wreak havoc on natural systems.

    Microplastics in our Great Lakes have been detected at high concentration levels. According to a recent survey by the U.S. Geological Survey, microplastics have been recorded at 112,000 particles per square mile of Great Lakes water.

    Recently, to address our own plastic management, Bell's worked with other breweries to secure a grant to purchase two balers that allows us to begin recycling bags made of woven polypropylene that are used for brewing grains like barley and other ingredients that come in large quantities.

    Courtesy of Bell's Brewery Inc.
    Bell's Brewery and other microbrewers in the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek region have formed a recycling cooperative to share the cost of two machine that crushes grain bags made of woven polypropylene fabric for mass recycling of the plastic commodity. The machines are located in a building near Bell's Eccentric Café in downtown Kalamazoo.

    These bags and what are called "super sacks" are essentially bulk bags that can hold upward of 3,000 pounds. While they are technically recyclable, there wasn't access to a viable recycling outlet until now.

    Truckloads of these bags are needed to make it worthwhile for a recycling company to take them on. Even though we are a larger brewery, Bell's wasn't generating enough used bags on our own.

    The balers purchased with the grant for our brewery and others allow us to use it for transport, and finished bales are processed through a partnership with Padnos in Grand Rapids and their Kalamazoo partner AJ's Recycling Services.

    Because of our commitment to sustainability, we worked with other breweries to secure this grant, which we are proud to say will reduce the amount of plastics being discarded in our state.

    We also know it takes more than individual actions of a few businesses to keep our lakes clean. It also takes smart policies at the local, state and federal level to ensure we're all doing our part.

    The good news is there are solutions to ensure that microplastics don't result in a catastrophe for our Great Lakes.

    The Great Lakes Business Network supports policies that will keep more plastics out of our freshwater ecosystem as well as other policies to keep our lakes clean.

    There are many other infrastructure investments that are necessary to make changes that reduce or eliminate pollution entering our rivers, lakes and streams. Our Great Lakes are only as great as they can be when we work together to protect them.

    The Great Lakes Business Network engages in advocacy on several fronts—from mitigating harmful algal blooms, to advancing clean energy opportunities and shuttering Enbridge's Line 5 oil pipeline—and we look forward to continuing our leadership from an economic perspective as we engage on the issue of microplastics.

    Crain's Forum Sponsors

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Perspective: How manufacturers can create a more agile supply chain
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Plastics industry social media accounts worth following
    2
    Gund buys Vanderveer Industrial Plastics
    3
    Recycling plant for laminated packaging launches in Mexico
    4
    PVC, PS resin prices take opposite paths in May
    5
    Target, Walmart cut from bag drop-off site directory following report
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2023 winners
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Bioplastics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified