Plastic pollution in the Great Lakes

Researchers have found stunningly high amounts of tiny plastic pieces in all five Great Lakes. They’ve found microscopic plastic pieces in drinking water, fish, and beer – and even in human blood.

Visit our campaign page to see how you can be part of the solution. Learn more about Great Lakes plastic pollution below.

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July 8, 2019

Videos: Week without Single-Use Plastics

As an environmental nonprofit, we know a thing or two about plastic pollution. We wrote the Great Lakes plastic-free pledge, we developed a plastic-free toolkit for our advocates, we empower […]

Press Release

July 3, 2019

Celebrate a Plastic-Free 4th of July on the Great Lakes

July 3, 2019 (Chicago, IL) – Millions of people will be heading to their favorite beach to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday this week. But, plastic pollution is all […]

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June 18, 2019

Balloon Pollution in the Great Lakes

This spring saw an uptick in awareness of the problem of plastics in our lakes, including the fact that thousands of pounds of balloon remnants end up in the water […]

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June 5, 2019

7 Ways You Can Keep Plastic Out of the Great Lakes

More than 22 million pounds of plastic pollution ends up in the Great Lakes every year. On average, less than 20% of plastic is recycled globally. And plastic that’s discarded […]

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June 4, 2019

Fourth Graders Take on 57th Street Beach in Chicago

This Earth Day, fourth graders at University of Chicago Lab School took on cleanup efforts at 57th Street Beach in Hyde Park. Nearly 100 Lab students are becoming Adopt-a-Beach volunteers […]

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May 10, 2019

Eco Evie and the Girl Scouts Clean Up Milwaukee’s Bradford Beach

When we plan open-invitation Adopt-a-Beach cleanups, we don’t always know what we’re to get. We can’t control the weather, we don’t know what we’ll find on the beach, and we […]

Press Release

April 9, 2019

Adopt-a-Beach Program Springs into Action for 2019 Beach Season

Tuesday, April 9, 2019 (Chicago) – As spring finally begins to appear around the Great Lakes, volunteers are heading out to beaches for a spring cleaning. The Alliance for the […]

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November 8, 2018

How to Be a Plastic-Free Great Lakes Champion

Today, the Alliance teamed up with partners at Access Living and Shedd Aquarium on a live webinar to talk about plastic pollution in the Great Lakes and how people around […]

ADOPT-A-BEACH TEAM OF THE WEEK

October 11, 2018

Michigan Students Make an Impact Beyond the Beach

Christine Webster makes it her mission to inspire the next generation of eco-conscious citizens. An Adopt-a-Beach team leader and science instructor of 28 years, Webster also sponsors Hudsonville High School’s […]

Press Release

September 15, 2018

Thousands of Adopt-a-Beach Volunteers Join Regional Cleanup Effort, Fight Plastic Pollution

September 15, 2018 (Chicago) — Great Lakes beaches are getting a deep clean today as thousands of volunteers head out for the Alliance for the Great Lakes’ annual September Adopt-a-Beach […]