Adopt-a-Beach

Adopt-a-Beach volunteers are on the front lines of keeping litter, most of it plastic, out of the Great Lakes. And they collect valuable data on what they find for researchers to use worldwide.

Visit our Adopt-a-Beach page to see how you can get involved with Adopt-a-Beach. Read the latest news about Adopt-a-Beach cleanups below.

Blog

December 10, 2025

Adopt-a-Beach Volunteers Make Ripples Beyond the Shoreline

Our amazing Adopt-a-Beach volunteers removed 541,750 pieces of litter – more than 23,000 pounds – from Great Lakes beaches, trails, parks, and marinas in 2025! Their work kept more than […]

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December 9, 2024

3 Big Firsts for Adopt-a-Beach

Thanks to our amazing volunteers, Adopt-a-Beach celebrated three big firsts in 2024. Adopt-a-Beach on your phone This spring, our beach cleanup program launched a new system that allows volunteers to […]

Press Release

September 4, 2024

10 Million Pieces of Litter Collected from Great Lakes Shorelines

Chicago, IL (September 4, 2024) – Today, the Alliance for the Great Lakes announced an Adopt-a-Beach milestone. In the twenty-one years the Alliance has been tracking trash collected by the […]

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May 22, 2024

Adopt-a-Beach Makes a Splash

Adopt-a-Beach made a big splash in the media this spring, raising awareness about plastic pollution and solutions. And 20 years’ worth of Adopt-a-Beach volunteers were part of it. “One of […]

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April 22, 2024

“Thank you for helping our Great Lakes shine!”

Adopt-a-Beach volunteers and Alliance Ambassadors do so much for the Great Lakes! They organize beach cleanups. They spread the word about how people can protect the lakes. They build community […]

Press Release

April 11, 2024

New Report: Vast Majority of Great Lakes Litter is Plastic

CHICAGO, IL (April 11, 2024) – Eighty six percent of litter collected on Great Lakes beaches is composed either partially or fully of plastic, according to a new report released […]

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November 20, 2023

20 Years and Counting 

Adopt-a-Beach volunteers removed more than 530,000 pieces of litter – weighing over 25,000 pounds – from Great Lakes shorelines in 2023.  Each piece of litter is part of a bigger […]

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June 26, 2023

Adopt-a-Beach Launches 20th Year of Data Collection

Adopt-a-Beach volunteers launched the 2023 Adopt-a-Beach season with hundreds of cleanups on Great Lakes beaches, harbors, bluffs, and trails. By June 26, volunteers had removed more than 191,000 pieces of […]

Blog

April 21, 2023

20 Years of Adopt-a-Beach Data Collection: What Have We Learned?

Adopt-a-Beach volunteers are on the front lines of keeping litter off our beaches and out of the Great Lakes. But did you know that these volunteers are also citizen scientists? […]

Blog

November 14, 2022

Adopt-a-Beach 2022: Year-End Results

Every November, the weather turns cooler, the rush of beach cleanups begins to slow, and we take the time to compile our annual Adopt-a-Beach™ results. The Alliance for the Great […]