Over 500 pieces of litter have been stopped from reaching Lake Superior.
Over the past two months, EcoSuperior has installed 16 LittaTraps, a trash capture device, in storm drains around Thunder Bay.
The contents of the traps are being monitored monthly throughout the summer and fall to identify the types and amount of litter entering our waterways.
Since the process has begun hundreds of pieces of litter have been diverted from Lake Superior, 60 per cent of which were cigarette butts. Food packaging and large plastic fragments made up a large portion of the other waste found.
“Not only are we preventing litter from reaching Lake Superior, but we are also collecting data that will inform long-lasting solutions to urban litter, in Thunder Bay and around the world,” said Rethinking Waste Coordinator at EcoSuperior, Kennedy Bucci.
“The results of our project will be used locally to improve waste literacy in our community and inform better waste management solutions. Our data will also contribute to the global fight against plastic pollution, as it is being uploaded to the International Trash Trap Network, a global database used by scientists and advocates around the world to inform plastic research and pollution mitigation efforts.”
The grant for the traps was provided to EcoSuperior through the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR) in the United States.
This project is part of the CGLR’s commitment to capture and remove plastic litter before it enters the Great Lakes and the region’s waterways as a part of its Circular Great Lakes initiative trying to achieve a future without plastic waste and pollution.
The use of the traps is helping inform the organizations about the amount and type of plastic litter and pollution being released into the environment.
The data will be used to help shape conversations with consumers, legislators, and business leaders about the impacts of plastic litter and what can be done to eliminate the source of pollution.
The program is currently in place for two more years but there are hopes from EcoSuperior to see the program extended and expanded.
