Want to help? Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup welcomes people who want to pitch in.
Join the workCapturing plastic across the world's largest freshwater system, from Lake Superior to the St. Lawrence.
Their data has already informed policy, including Ontario's Keeping Polystyrene Out of Lakes and Rivers Act. The program combines hands-on capture with research that pushes prevention upstream.
A binational initiative jointly led by Pollution Probe, a Canadian environmental charity, and the Council of the Great Lakes Region, with U.S. donations processed through the CGLR Foundation.
Deploying proven capture technology — Seabins, PixieDrones, BeBots, and stormwater LittaTraps — to remove plastic from marinas, shorelines, and drains before it reaches open water, plus community science to characterize what is found.
Launched in 2020. Through the 2025 season they had removed and reported data on more than 277,000 pieces of plastic and debris.
Source: Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup, 2025 season data (May 26, 2026)
Sites across the Great Lakes basin from Lake Superior to the St. Lawrence River, spanning both Canadian and U.S. shorelines, with 162 devices deployed to date.
An estimated 10 million kilograms of plastic litter enter the Great Lakes each year. Capturing it at the source protects drinking water, wildlife, and the 107 million people who live in the region.
Want to help? Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup welcomes people who want to pitch in.
Join the work