Every piece of plastic collected tells a story. Our newest data reveals emerging trends for plastic found on beaches, waterways and stormwater systems and provides valuable insights that can help prevent future pollution before it reaches the lakes.
With the expanded use of mobile plastic cleanup technologies, including the beach-cleaning robot, BeBot, we’re removing plastic and other debris across multiple environments, including water, shorelines and stormwater systems, while identifying trends unique to each.
For the 2025 season, we also added new categories to our data characterization, including packaging and food-related materials, recreational items such as toys and hunting and fishing gear, personal care products, and smoking-related waste, providing us with a clearer picture of the amount of specitic types of plastic pollution across the Great Lakes.
Read more about our recent findings here.
To explore more detailed trends and insights, visit our newest webpage here.