who are we?
Plastic Lakes Project is an initiative of Plastic Ocean Project to research, educate and prevent plastic pollution in the Great Lakes. We offer monthly cleanups in the Rochester, NY area throughout the summer and fall. These events are meant to collect litter, but also raise awareness and educate the public on alternatives to single-use plastic. Collected debris are tracked using datasheets to help us learn what types of litter are the most common or harmul. Plastic Lakes Project is currently researching microplastics in Lake Ontario through SUNY Brockport and University of Toronto.
what's the problem?
epa.gov
22 million pounds of plastic enters the Great Lakes every year! There is enough plastic waste in the Great Lakes to rival the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the North Pacific Ocean.
Three million pounds of plastic ends up In Lake Ontario each year. That's enough plastic waste to fill 28 Olympic-sized swimming pools. While studies are emerging on plastic pollution in the Great Lakes, very few include research on Lake Ontario. Plastic Lakes Project is therefore focusing here first, as Lake Ontario is very unique. The other four Great Lakes eventually flow into Lake Ontario, making it the most vulnerable to plastic pollution. The highest plastic count was outside of Toronto, with 3.4 million pieces found in one square mile. What's more, Lake Ontario is the last Great Lake before the St. Lawrence River, which empties into the ocean at the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Everything is connected!
A majority of plastic waste comes from densely populated cities, like Chicago, Toronto, Cleveland and Detroit, as well as runoff from agricultural fields, recreation, and shipping. Unlike marine plastics that tend to move towards large, central, ocean gyres at the surface, lake plastics are often taken to shore by wind and currents. Of the litter that washes ashore, roughly 80% is plastic debris. Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose, meaning it will remain in the ecosystem far beyond our lifetimes.
Three million pounds of plastic ends up In Lake Ontario each year. That's enough plastic waste to fill 28 Olympic-sized swimming pools. While studies are emerging on plastic pollution in the Great Lakes, very few include research on Lake Ontario. Plastic Lakes Project is therefore focusing here first, as Lake Ontario is very unique. The other four Great Lakes eventually flow into Lake Ontario, making it the most vulnerable to plastic pollution. The highest plastic count was outside of Toronto, with 3.4 million pieces found in one square mile. What's more, Lake Ontario is the last Great Lake before the St. Lawrence River, which empties into the ocean at the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Everything is connected!
A majority of plastic waste comes from densely populated cities, like Chicago, Toronto, Cleveland and Detroit, as well as runoff from agricultural fields, recreation, and shipping. Unlike marine plastics that tend to move towards large, central, ocean gyres at the surface, lake plastics are often taken to shore by wind and currents. Of the litter that washes ashore, roughly 80% is plastic debris. Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose, meaning it will remain in the ecosystem far beyond our lifetimes.
Why is this important?
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The Great Lakes - Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario - make up the largest bodies of freshwater on the planet, accounting for over 20% of the surface freshwater on the planet, a volume of six quadrillion gallons. These lakes span eight states in the USA as well as Ontario, Canada. They provide drinking water, recreation, food and a way of life for millions of people. The Great Lakes are also a vital part of the region's ecology, providing important habitat to a myriad of fishes, birds, mammals, reptiles, invertebrates and plants. Plastic in the Great Lakes endanger important species and can disrupt normal ecosystem functioning. Microplastics have been found to be ingested by Great Lakes fish and invertebrates. A recent study has also shown that microplastics are entering drinking water. |
Infographic created by EcoSuperior
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meet the team
Tammy Bleier
Rochester, New York
Tammy graduated from University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2014 with a B.S. in Marine Biology, where she discovered Plastic Ocean Project. She worked with POP on a myriad of ventures, but after learning that three million pounds of plastic enter Lake Ontario every year, Tammy decided to focus her efforts on preventing and reducing plastic pollution in her hometown, Rochester, NY. She remains a POP Global Ambassador and founded Plastic Lakes Project to bring awareness of plastic pollution to her community and the Great Lakes. Tammy is a masters candidate in the Environmental Science & Ecology department at SUNY Brockport, where she is researching microplastics in Lake Ontario tributaries.
Rochester, New York
Tammy graduated from University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2014 with a B.S. in Marine Biology, where she discovered Plastic Ocean Project. She worked with POP on a myriad of ventures, but after learning that three million pounds of plastic enter Lake Ontario every year, Tammy decided to focus her efforts on preventing and reducing plastic pollution in her hometown, Rochester, NY. She remains a POP Global Ambassador and founded Plastic Lakes Project to bring awareness of plastic pollution to her community and the Great Lakes. Tammy is a masters candidate in the Environmental Science & Ecology department at SUNY Brockport, where she is researching microplastics in Lake Ontario tributaries.
Sam Athey
Toronto, Ontario
Sam serves as Plastic Ocean Project's Director of Chapters. After her recent move to the Great Lakes region, she knew she had to bring plastic pollution awareness and POP initiatives to her new community. Sam received her B.S. with honors and M.Sc. in Marine Science from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she conducted research on microplastic ingestion in marine species. She is currently completing her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, studying microfibre and chemical loss from clothing in the context of ecotoxicological effects of micrfibres in Great Lake ecosystems. Learn more about microfiber pollution and her research through Sam's blog: the Microfiber Pollution Project!
Toronto, Ontario
Sam serves as Plastic Ocean Project's Director of Chapters. After her recent move to the Great Lakes region, she knew she had to bring plastic pollution awareness and POP initiatives to her new community. Sam received her B.S. with honors and M.Sc. in Marine Science from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she conducted research on microplastic ingestion in marine species. She is currently completing her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, studying microfibre and chemical loss from clothing in the context of ecotoxicological effects of micrfibres in Great Lake ecosystems. Learn more about microfiber pollution and her research through Sam's blog: the Microfiber Pollution Project!