PHOTO BY BRIAN YURASITS
The Council of the Great Lakes Region has launched the first phase of its Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup initiative to help rid Ontario’s Great Lakes shorelines of plastic waste. The initiative is in partnership with Pollution Probe, the University of Toronto Trash Team, Boating Ontario, PortsToronto, as well as collaborators EnviroPod, Water Products and Solutions-America, Poralu Marine and Georgian Bay Forever.
Plastic debris accounts for 80% of litter found on the Great Lakes shorelines, and every year, 10 kilograms of plastic enter its waterways, reports the Council of the Great Lakes Region.
“Plastic litter in the Great Lakes is a significant problem, arising in part from poor recycling. As we seek to end plastic waste by closing the loop in our economy and adopting circular solutions, this innovative project begins the task of capturing and cleaning up plastic pollution before and after it enters our lakes and rivers,” says Mark Fisher, president and CEO of Council of the Great Lakes Region.
Funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada, the initiative introduces the largest single deployment of two innovative technologies in the world. Sixteen Seabin devices will be installed in Ontario’s Great Lakes shorelines, along with 10 LittaTrap devices in marinas to help trap and prevent the flow of plastic debris from polluting the lake.
For more information, visit councilgreatlakesregion.org.
