Mississippi Today
How much trash does the Mississippi River funnel from the heartland to the ocean?
The Mississippi River drains more than 40% of the continental U.S. – just how much trash does it take along with it?
That’s what a group of researchers and environmental advocates wanted to find out when they began a litter analysis of a handful of cities along the river a few years ago. This fall, they released what they’re calling the “first-ever snapshot of the state of plastic pollution along the Mississippi River.”
Between 2021 and 2022, volunteers from St. Paul, Minnesota; the Quad Cities area in Iowa and Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; Greenville and Rosedale, Mississippi; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; logged trash they found into the University of Georgia’s Debris Tracker app. The study came on the heels of a 2018 commitment from mayors along the river to reduce plastic and trash.
Although many people might think oceanside cities bear the responsibility to keep plastic and trash out of the water, the Mississippi River can act as a funnel for that trash from the heart of the country to the Gulf of Mexico.
The study was also meant to raise people’s awareness of the river’s role in keeping other waters clean, said Jennifer Wendt, plastic waste reduction campaign manager for the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative — the mayors’ group that worked on the study.
For example, a piece of litter that someone tosses on the ground in Missouri could theoretically make its way through storm drains, to tributaries, to the Mississippi, to the Gulf and then to the ocean.
“It may not look like a plastic beverage bottle by the time it gets to the ocean, but it’s still there,” Wendt said.
Here’s what to know about the study results, what’s next for reducing plastic and trash along the river and how you can keep plastic out of important waterways.
What was the top trash found in the Mississippi River?
About 80,000 litter items were logged during the study’s data collection period.
Plastic was the top material found in and around the river, making up 75% of the total trash. Paper and lumber was next at 9%, followed by metal at 7%, glass at 5%, and personal protective equipment like masks at 2%.
The top 10 most commonly found items included:
- 11,278 cigarette butts
- 9,809 food wrappers
- 6,723 beverage bottles
- 5,747 foam fragments
- 4,239 hard plastic fragments
- 4,210 paper and cardboard items
- 3,882 plastic bags
- 3,640 aluminum or tin cans
- 3,260 foam or plastic cups
- 3,149 film fragments
Other notable finds include 825 masks, 480 items of clothing and shoes and 291 pieces of fishing gear.
In an optional survey after logging the trash they found, participants were asked if they cleaned it up. Close to three-fourths said yes.
What do the results tell us about litter habits?
People may not know that cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate, a type of plastic, Wendt said. They can take up to 10 years to decompose. And cigarettes can also leach other toxic chemicals into the water, according to the report.
Another intriguing finding was the amount of plastic beverage bottles and aluminum cans found, Wendt said — both of which are recyclable.
She noted that of the cities that took part in the study, only one of their states, Iowa, has a so-called “bottle bill,” in which people pay a five-cent deposit when they purchase a beverage container and get a five-cent refund if they return the container to a store or redemption center. Bottles were lower down on the litter list in the Quad Cities than in other places.
Legislation like that “is not very popular politically,” Wendt said, “but it does work.”
Some states along the river prohibit local bans of plastic bags, she pointed out.
What’s next for keeping plastic out of the river?
River-wide data collection has wrapped up, but Wendt said the next step is carrying out city-specific projects to reduce plastic pollution.
Those include providing funds to underserved neighborhoods in St. Louis and Baton Rouge so they can pursue what they see as integral to reducing waste, like installing water-filling stations, or developing a curriculum for schools to teach about recycling.
The mayors’ group will continue to work with the University of Georgia to do a comprehensive assessment of waste management in a few cities, Wendt said, and they’re also planning to work with cities that don’t have recycling programs to provide people a way to recycle.
Wendt maintained that while recycling is part of the solution, it’s not the only solution.
“(The discussion is) moving in the right direction, from ‘Oh, we just need to clean up litter…’ to, ‘Oh, we actually need to reduce the source if we’re going to have any real impact,’” she said.
What can people do to reduce plastic into waterways?
The biggest step people can take is to stop using plastic bags, Wendt said. That also goes for single-use plastic water bottles, she said, except for those who need to drink out of them because of water contamination.
Beyond that, talk to local retailers and see if they’d be willing to ask customers if they want a bag instead of assuming they do, she said, and ask if restaurants could switch to sustainable materials for carryout containers and leftovers. Consumers can push retailers to make changes like this, she said, though she acknowledged it works best when people approach retailers as a group.
Nationally, Wendt said more attention is needed for the role the Mississippi River plays in carrying plastic and trash.
When she attends events about reducing plastic, representatives from coastal cities are often the only ones at the table.
“There’s this whole rest of the middle of the country that needs a little bit of focus,” she said.
This story, the last in a three-part series, published in partnership with the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, part of Mississippi Today, is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, funded by the Walton Family Foundation.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Editor’s note: This story was updated Tuesday afternoon to reflect Gov. Tate Reeves’ statement.
Gov. Tate Reeves says will not block the execution of Mississippi’s oldest and longest-serving inmate, which is set for Wednesday evening.
Reeves said in a statement Tuesday that he rejected a clemency petition for Richard Jordan. The Republican governor said Jordan admitted being guilty of kidnapping Edwina Marter, at gunpoint, from her family’s home in coastal Harrison County in 1976 while her 3-year-old son was sleeping, and of forcing Marter to drive into a forest and killing her by shooting her in the back of the head.
“Following this premeditated and heinous act, Mr. Jordan demanded and was paid a $25,000 ransom prior to being apprehended by law enforcement,” Reeves said.
Jordan, 79, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
Reeves said considering clemency requests in death penalty cases is “a somber responsibility” that he takes seriously.
“Justice must be done,” he said.
The governor issued his statement hours after a prison reform advocate publicly implored him to spare Jordan’s life.
“I’m here today to ask our Christian governor to do the Christian thing and show mercy – mercy on a man that has spent 49 years in prison and has done everything he could do to atone for his crime,” Mitzi Magleby said outside the Mississippi Supreme Court.
Reeves declined to block the only two executions Mississippi has carried out since he became governor – one in 2021 and one in 2022.
Jordan was first convicted in 1976 for kidnapping and killing Marter, and it took four trials until a death sentence stuck in 1998.
One of Marter’s sons said Jordan should have been executed long ago.
“I don’t want him to get what he wants,” Eric Marter, who is 59 and lives in Lafayette, Louisiana, told Mississippi Today. “If you want to spend the rest of your life in jail, then I would rather you not get that, and if that means you get executed, you get executed.”
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied Jordan’s request for a stay of execution. Jordan had a separate request for a stay awaiting consideration at the U.S. Supreme Court.
The appeals court wrote that Jordan has received repeated review of his claims in state and federal courts for nearly 50 years.
At this point, “finality acquires an added moral dimension,” the appeals court wrote. “Only with an assurance of real finality can the State execute its moral judgment in a case. Only with real finality can the victims of crime move forward knowing the moral judgment will be carried out.”
Magleby, who has met Jordan, said he has been a model prisoner and is extremely remorseful. She said she believes life without parole would be a sufficient and humane punishment.
“I believe that it is more of a penalty to do life without parole,” she said. “The death penalty gives you an out-date. Life without parole does not.”
She also delivered a petition asking Reeves to prevent Jordan’s execution. That petition had more than 3,000 signatures.
The news conference was put on by Magleby and Death Penalty Action, who are supporters of Jordan’s cause.
If Jordan’s execution goes forward as scheduled, supporters plan to hold protest vigils Wednesday outside Parchman and the Governor’s Mansion and online.
Human rights group Amnesty International released a statement Tuesday opposing the execution.
“Governor Tate Reeves is the only person with the power to spare Jordan’s life,” the group said. “He must use this power to halt this execution, commute Richard Jordan’s sentence and work towards ending the death penalty in Mississippi more broadly.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The post Death penalty foes ask governor to stop execution appeared first on mississippitoday.org
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This article presents a factual report on the decision by Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves not to block the execution of Richard Jordan, the state’s longest-serving death row inmate. The language remains neutral, providing statements from the governor, victim’s family members, prison reform advocates, and human rights groups without editorializing. It highlights perspectives both supporting and opposing the execution, focusing on legal proceedings, moral considerations, and public reactions. The piece reports on the ideological positions of involved parties (such as advocates for clemency and victims’ relatives) but itself does not promote a specific political viewpoint, maintaining balanced and objective coverage.
Mississippi Today
Advocate: Big federal bill’s voucher provision is not beautiful for Mississippi education
Editor’s note: This essay is part of Mississippi Today Ideas, a platform for thoughtful Mississippians to share fact-based ideas about our state’s past, present and future. You can read more about the section here.
Mississippi’s public school teachers and students keep racking up wins for our state.
A few months ago, we received terrific news regarding the latest national test scores. Our fourth-graders earned a ninth-in-the-nation overall ranking in reading and 16th place in math. Mississippi students did similarly well on state tests, achieving the highest proficiency rates ever logged on those assessments.
The recently released Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT 2025 Data Book now ranks Mississippi 16th in the nation for education — an incredible leap from 30th in 2024 and 32nd in 2023.
National media outlets have proclaimed our students’ remarkable rise in academic proficiency to be the “Mississippi Miracle,” inspiring other states’ education leaders to ask how they can be more like us.
Without a doubt, the progress made in Mississippi’s public schools is a direct result of the tireless efforts of our public school teachers and students. Their impressive work has been bolstered by tens of thousands of parents and community leaders who have been standing in the gap for decades, fighting for better school resources and, importantly, against the billionaire-backed campaign to undermine public education through private school voucher programs.
Other states have fallen victim to the voucher lobby, swayed by the millions of dollars spent pressuring them to adopt so-called “school choice” policies. Mississippi’s legislators, however, have resisted school choice, standing with their constituents and refusing to gamble with our children’s futures, thereby avoiding the financial and academic pitfalls suffered in states that embraced voucher schemes.
But a piece of legislation moving through Congress poses a significant threat to our state’s education progress.
The sweeping federal budget bill, HR 1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), includes a dangerous provision that would impose a nationwide tax-credit voucher program, overriding the will of states like Mississippi and threatening our historic progress.
These few paragraphs tucked into a massive federal budget bill would jeopardize the gains our students have worked so hard to achieve while adding $5 billion a year to the federal deficit.
Mississippi isn’t alone in opposing school choice schemes. Voters across the country have rejected voucher proposals every single time they’ve appeared on statewide ballots. Unfortunately, some state legislatures have ignored their constituents in favor of voucher lobbyists and donors, legislating voucher programs with devastating consequences: severe state budget shortfalls and flagging student achievement. In fact, every state named by EdChoice as a “Top 10 School Choice State” has seen academic performance decline precipitously while Mississippi’s results keep rising.
If HR 1 were to become law with the voucher provision intact, it would set Mississippi back decades and establish a dangerous precedent: allowing private interests to decide which of the country’s children will be educated with federal dollars.
The bill already has passed the House and now awaits action in the Senate where Mississippi’s own senators — Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith — could play a critical role in removing the tax-credit voucher language from the legislation. Both senators enjoy significant influence in the U.S. Senate, influence that is heightened in this case by what is expected to be a very close vote.
We urge them to consider these key points:
- Mississippians have rejected vouchers time and again and do not want them forced on us by the federal government.
- The tax-credit voucher plan in HR 1 would reverse years of progress in our public schools.
- The proposed tax-credit voucher program would add $5 billion to the federal deficit annually — for a program Mississippians don’t want.
Nancy Loome is executive director of The Parents’ Campaign (msparentscampaign.org) and president of The Parents’ Campaign Research & Education Fund (tpcref.org). She and her husband Jim have three grown children, all of whom graduated from Clinton Public Schools.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The post Advocate: Big federal bill's voucher provision is not beautiful for Mississippi education appeared first on mississippitoday.org
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Left-Leaning
This article expresses a clear ideological stance opposing federal school voucher programs, portraying them as harmful to Mississippi’s public education progress. The language praises public schools, teachers, and community efforts while criticizing the influence of “billionaire-backed” voucher campaigns and framing the federal bill’s voucher provision as a threat. It emphasizes voters’ rejection of vouchers and highlights negative consequences in states that adopted such policies, suggesting a preference for public education funding and skepticism of privatization efforts. The tone and framing indicate a left-leaning perspective supportive of public schools and critical of school choice initiatives promoted by conservative interests.
A new school year will be here before we know it, which represents more than just a return to the classroom. It presents an opportunity to instill essential life skills, like financial literacy. This season is an ideal time for parents to introduce their kids to the fundamentals of money management, including saving, budgeting, and responsible spending.
To help prepare for the year ahead, Chase is hosting a Back-to-School Family Finance event that will feature fun activities, financial health workshops, and more for kids of all ages.
- When—Saturday, June 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Where—Mississippi Civil Rights Museum (222 North St., #2205, Jackson, MS 39201)
- What—Attendees will enjoy free haircuts, interactive games, and financial health activities designed for all ages to learn the importance of budgeting, smart spending, and the valuable resources available to them. Plus, while supplies last, students will receive a free backpack filled with school supplies.
In addition to joining Chase at the June 28 event, here are a few important lessons parents and kids can learn to help on the first day of school and beyond.
Start With Saving
Whether it’s allowance, gifts, or earnings from a summer job, teaching kids to track and save their money is essential in developing good financial habits. Saving toward specific goals and understanding the time it takes to reach those can help children grasp the true value of money.
Chase provides families with the tools and resources to make saving easy, like Autosave, by setting up automatic monthly transfers from your Chase checking account to your savings account. All managed through the Chase Mobile® App, parents can help their child set a savings goal to ensure they build a strong financial foundation.
Next, Begin Budgeting
As you approach the tween and teen years, financial needs and desires for independence will evolve. They might take on part-time jobs, save up for larger goals (like a car), and begin managing more of their own finances. This is a great opportunity for them to learn the basics of budgeting.
Chase’s Monthly Budgeting Worksheets help make this process simple. Start by entering monthly income and expenses to help your teen differentiate “needs” and “wants.” This helps them see where their money is going and is important as they begin cashing and spending their first paychecks.
Then, Grow Their Finances
Transitioning from high school to college or stepping into the real-world post-graduation comes with a new set of responsibilities. Amidst managing studies, jobs, and future planning, young adults need both guidance and practical tools to help.
The Chase Mobile app tracks earnings, savings, and expenses, and makes it easy to send and receive money with Zelle®.
Just as kids progress from one grade to the next, they can grow their understanding and management of money too. Opening their first bank account is a great complement to these financial lessons. Check out Chase First BankingSM, Chase High School CheckingSM, and Chase College CheckingSM, to see which account works best for your student or, learn more at chase.com/StudentBanking.
| Chase First Banking Designed for kids ages 6-12, the parent-owned account with a debit card for kids and no monthly service fee. | High School Checking For teens 13-17, the co-owned account allows students to set up direct deposit and automate savings. |
Chase College Checking For college students 17-24, the account can be managed through the Chase Mobileapp and allows users to send and receive money via Zelle. |
Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to connect, learn, and prepare for the school year. We look forward to seeing you there!
Chase Mobile® app is available for select mobile devices. Message and data rates may apply.
Zelle and Zelle related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license.
Bank deposit accounts, such as checking and savings, may be subject to approval.
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The post Financial Fun in the Sun: Summer Money Lessons for the Whole Family appeared first on mississippitoday.org
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This article presents a neutral, factual overview of financial literacy initiatives targeted at families and students, without promoting a particular ideological stance. The content is educational and practical, focusing on empowering parents and children with money management skills. It highlights resources from a major financial institution (JPMorgan Chase) and describes community events, tools, and services in a straightforward manner. There is no loaded language or partisan framing, and the article refrains from advocating specific political or economic policies, instead emphasizing universally accepted personal finance principles and community engagement.
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