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.