Plastic pollution widespread across Great Lakes beaches, cleanup group finds

Litter strewn across Great Lakes beaches is overwhelmingly composed of plastic, a new study from a region-wide beach cleanup group found, signaling a widespread problem for the wildlife and people who encounter them.

The Chicago-based environmental nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes collected data from more than 14,000 beach cleanup events over the last 20 years across all five Great Lakes. Volunteer beachcombers categorized each piece of litter. In an average season, 86% of what they collected was composed partially or entirely of plastic.

"The volume of plastic found on our shorelines demonstrates the urgent need to pass federal, state, and local laws that reduce plastic pollution getting into the lakes," said Olivia Reda, Alliance for the Great Lakes volunteer manager and author of the report released Thursday. "While our dedicated volunteers are cleaning up literally tons of litter each year, more of this plastic litter enters our waters, where it breaks down into tiny particles that are found in our drinking water."

Plastic pollution, particularly when it breaks down into teeny-tiny pieces known as microplastics, is "incredibly disturbing," said Donna Kashian, director of environmental sciences and biology professor at Wayne State University.

Those pieces have been found in animals throughout the Great Lakes ecosystem, she said.

"That's the birds, the fish, the mussels," Kashian said.

Scientists have linked microplastics exposure to cardiovascular issues, reproductive issues and other health effects, and scientists around the world are racing to understand more about the threat the tiny particles pose to human health.

Microplastics also impact wildlife, Kashian said. Her lab is studying how microplastics impact harmful algal bloom behavior, animals' gills, fish diets and more.

"It's found everywhere, from the deepest parts of the ocean to in the veins of humans," she said. "And it's only going to get worse" because plastic production continues to increase.

"The problems are a thousand-fold," Kashian added.

More:Guarding the Great Lakes: A lake-by-lake look at the impact of climate change

Shifting trends in litter

The nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes' Adopt-a-Beach cleanup program started in 1991. Volunteers clean beaches year-round along all of the Great Lakes shorelines each season and have collected more than 9.7 million pieces of trash and 535,000 pounds of litter in those decades. Volunteers started collecting data about the litter in 2003.

Volunteers place each piece of litter into categories such as food-related or smoking-related. Program coordinators introduced the "tiny trash" category in 2014 for small pieces of foam, glass and plastic. The vast majority of the litter collected — 89% in the average year — falls into those three categories, the report states. Forty percent of litter collected in an average season is tiny trash.

The common litter items changed over time. From 2003-2013, cigarette butts were the most common refuse item collected by volunteers. Then came food wrappers, caps and lids, straws and drink stirrers, plastic cigar tips, tableware and cups, plastic beverage bottles, plastic bags, glass beverage bottles and beverage cans, the report states.

Between 2014-2023, when volunteers started recording "tiny trash," plastic pieces were the most common items found. From there, cigarette butts were in second place, then foam pieces, plastic bottle caps, food wrappers, cigar tips, glass pieces, straws and stirrers, plastic beverage bottles and metal bottle caps.

Single-use plastic is fueling the Great Lakes litter problem, the report states. Volunteers frequently picked up plastic bags, food wrappers, straws and utensils from shorelines.

A call for less plastic use

The larger hunks of plastic eventually break down into microplastics, Kashian said.

Student researchers in Kashian's lab at Wayne State are investigating the sources of microplastics into the Great Lakes, such as sewer outfalls, as well as whether microplastics are trapped by raingardens and other forms of green infrastructure.

She advocated for additional research into the effects different plastic chemistries have on people and the environment and more research into how plastics behave in the environment, as well as widespread monitoring of plastic pollution.

"We need to have resources available to monitor where the highest inputs are coming into the Great Lakes," she said. "If we don't know, we can't mitigate."

Alliance for the Great Lakes advocated for policies that limit litter, such as extended producer responsibility laws that require manufacturers design products and packaging to be reused, recycled or to contain less plastic. For individuals who want to limit their pollution, the nonprofit recommended using reusable bottles, plates, cutlery and bags instead of single-use ones, volunteering with cleanup crews and advocating for cleanup policies.

Reda, the Alliance for the Great Lakes volunteer coordinator, praised the volunteers who have combed Great Lakes beaches for decades to collect litter and data.

"This dataset demonstrates the power of citizen science, when members of the public come together to collect datasets far larger than any single researcher could build," Reda said. "We are so thankful to the hundreds of thousands of volunteers and supporters who participated in Adopt-a-Beach cleanups over the years. They are environmental heroes committed to reducing litter in their communities and are collecting one-of-a-kind data that will continue shining a light on plastic pollution."

ckthompson@detroitnews.com