close
close
orange

Great Lakes and Presque Isle beaches littered with plastic, the report said

Vaseline

play

If you walk along the beaches of Lake Erie, you’ll see litter, and a new report shows that much of that litter is plastic.

According to a report from the Alliance for the Great Lakes, on average, 86% of the litter collected in a given Adopt-a-Beach season is made up of all or part of plastic. The report is based on two decades of data collected during more than 14,000 Adopt-a-Beach cleanups on all five Great Lakes, including Lake Erie at Presque Isle State Park.

“Plastic pollution in the Great Lakes is a threat to both human health and the environment,” Olivia Reda, author of the report and volunteer manager at the Alliance for the Great Lakes, said in a statement. “The amount of plastic found on our shores demonstrates the urgent need to pass federal, state and local laws that reduce the plastic pollution entering the lakes. While our dedicated volunteers pick up literally tons of litter every year, more and more of this plastic litter ends up in our waters, where it breaks down into tiny particles that appear in our drinking water.”

The source of much of the litter consists of single-use items such as plastic bags, straws, food packaging, take-out containers and plastic utensils, the report said.

“This discarded plastic never really goes away. It just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces,” the report said.

John Laskos, environmental education specialist at Presque Isle, sees more and more plastic on the park’s beaches. Most of it is 3 inches or smaller, he said, because the bottles, bags, children’s toys and more have been broken.

“It doesn’t seem to be slowing down,” he said of the plastic litter on Presque Isle beaches.

Clean it up: Trash is a growing problem at Presque Isle State Park, where visitors leave trash behind

In addition to ending up on beaches, pieces also end up in the Great Lakes, which are a source of drinking water for 40 million people and home to many aquatic animals. These can mistake the plastic pieces for food, causing nutritional problems. Fish can consume the pieces, which may contain chemicals or toxins, and are then eaten by humans. According to the report, small pieces of plastic known as microplastics have been found in drinking water, beer, human blood and breast milk.

“It even gets into us because we eat fish (that ate the plastic),” Laskos said.

In addition to the health problems, there are also the aesthetic ones.

“Nobody wants to come to a dirty-looking beach,” Laskos said.

Types of litter

Information collected by the Alliance for the Great Lakes showed that between 2003 and 2013, the largest litter items collected in Adopt-a-Beach cleanups were cigarette butts, followed by food packaging; caps and lids; straws and stirrers; cigar tips; cups, plates, forks and knives; plastic beverage bottles; plastic bags; glass beverage bottles; and drink cans.

From 2014 onwards, the ‘small waste’ category was added, including pieces of foam, glass and plastic of less than 2.5 centimeters. From 2014 through 2023, the top litter items were plastic pieces, cigarette butts, foam pieces, plastic bottle caps, food wrappers, cigar tips, glass pieces, straws and stirrers, plastic beverage bottles and metal bottle caps.

Laskos, who organizes Adopt-a-Beach cleanups in Presque Isle, said volunteers at the park collected 10,545 cigarette butts in 2023; 3,500 cigar tips; 3,000 plastic bottle caps; and 8,300 pieces of plastic measuring 3 inches or smaller. Results vary from year to year, he said. He shares that information with the Great Lakes Alliance.

From March on: A spring beach walk will reveal conditions at Presque Isle and help plan sand replenishment

How to reduce plastic pollution

The most effective way to reduce plastic pollution is to reduce the production of single-use plastics and hold manufacturers responsible for the waste their products generate, the report said.

But there are other ways individuals can help eliminate plastic pollution. The report suggests:

  • Use refillable water bottles and refuse to use single-use plastic items such as plastic grocery bags.
  • Make your voice heard and support local, state and federal laws and policies that reduce single-use plastics and promote sustainable solutions.
  • Participate in an Adopt-a-Beach cleanup campaign.

Participate in a clean-up campaign

Presque Isle State Park will hold its spring cleanup on April 27 from 8 a.m. to noon. Anyone can register from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the Rotary Pavilion in the Water Supply Area. Laskos said volunteers will be given bags and gloves and instructions on where to clean. Most people work about two hours, he said.

He said the cleanup volunteers set a good example for other park visitors who see the trash removal efforts.

Laskos also said, “It makes our park look cleaner.”

After the big spring cleanup, he organizes monthly Adopt-a-Beach cleanups on the peninsula. This year the events are scheduled for May 4, June 8, July 13, August 17, September 21 and October 19. Anyone can join us at 9 a.m. at the AAUW Pavilion near the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive. Volunteers receive bags and gloves and are sent to a dozen locations along the park’s 7.5 miles of coastline, Laskos said.

He said anyone wanting more information about the cleanups can call the park office at 814-833-7424.

The International Coastal Cleanup works with organizations and individuals around the world to remove waste from beaches and waterways. To find an ICC cleanup near you, visit https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/international-coastal-cleanup. For information about ICC cleanups in Erie County, call 814-451-7326 or visit https://bit.ly/eriecountycleanup.

Dana Massing can be reached at [email protected].

Related Posts