Digging into litter data – From Shoreline Cleanups to Solutions

Session: 46. - Plastics in the Great Lakes: Characterizing the Problem and Finding Solutions

Susan Debreceni, Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, [email protected]
Sarah Winterton, WWF-Canada, [email protected]

Abstract

Since 1994, the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup has engaged more than 700,000 Canadians and removed over 1.2 million kg of litter through volunteer-led local shoreline cleanups. This national cleanup is a conservation partnership of Ocean Wise and WWF-Canada and is one of the largest direct action conservation programs in Canada. Global contamination of plastic litter in our rivers, lakes and oceans has negatively impacted hundreds of species due to ingestion and entanglement. From the long-term data that our volunteers have collected, we see an emerging trend that the majority of items found on shorelines fall within the category of single-use plastics. For the first time in the history of the shoreline cleanup, the top item reported in 2017 was tiny plastics and foam (333,289), indicative that this is a material found in high numbers but also that awareness of this material is growing. This item was followed by cigarette filters (244,734), plastic bottles (50,285), food wrappers (47,466) and bottle caps (38,624). This dataset adds a powerful layer to driving solutions towards minimizing the amount of plastics in our aquatic ecosystems and there are clear examples of citizen science data being used to inform local changes.

1. Keyword
citizen science

2. Keyword
microplastics

3. Keyword
Great Lakes basin

4. Additional Keyword
Environmental Education

5. Additional Keyword
Wildlife

6. Additional Keyword
Outreach