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Small Plastics, Big Impact: Mobilizing the Great Lakes Business Network to Address Microplastics
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Researchers developed a microplastics education and advocacy campaign for the 220-member Great Lakes Business Network, finding through interviews that businesses were concerned about but underinformed about microplastics, and recommending prevention-focused policies targeting upstream pollution sources rather than removal.
Microplastics are the most prevalent debris in oceans and the Great Lakes. Estimates show 10,000 metric tons, or twenty-two million pounds, of plastic debris enter the Great Lakes annually from the U.S. and Canada. This contamination poses negative human health, wildlife, and economic impacts. Because corporate and consumer behavior in the U.S. is a prominent contributor to plastic pollution and a powerful force, this project utilizes business voices to address microplastic pollution in the Great Lakes via the Great Lakes Business Network (GLBN). The GLBN is a coalition of over 220 businesses that leverages its collective voice to advocate for Great Lakes issues. The GLBN engages with consumers and decision-makers to drive positive change. Through interviews, literature review, and policy analysis, our team created a microplastics campaign plan and a new committee for the GLBN to drive forward institutional change in a focused and effective way. Our interviews with eighteen GLBN businesses identified a gap between their knowledge of and concern for microplastics, indicating a need for education. We helped fill this gap through two webinars, one being a ‘Microplastics 101’ and the other a workshop, multiple presentations at all-member and executive committee meetings, one-pagers for education and lobby days, and this report. Since microplastics come from a variety of sources and are extremely difficult to remove, our recommendations focus on preventative measures that cut pollution off at the source.
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Microplastic pollution in the surface waters of the Laurentian Great Lakes
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Researchers documented microplastic pollution across the surface waters of the Laurentian Great Lakes, finding contamination in all lakes sampled — particularly Lake Erie — with fibers as the dominant particle type, highlighting plastic pollution in a critical freshwater system.
On the likelihood of ecological risks from microplastics in the Laurentian Great Lakes
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This review assessed the likelihood of ecological risks from microplastics in the Laurentian Great Lakes, identifying significant challenges for risk assessment due to inconsistent data quality and lack of standardized methods, and calling for policy development to address microplastic pollution in these iconic ecosystems.
Microplastics in the Great Lakes: Environmental, Health, and Socioeconomic Implications and Future Directions
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This review examined the environmental, health, and socioeconomic implications of microplastic pollution in the Great Lakes, where plastics make up the majority of litter. The study highlights that microplastics can be taken up by aquatic organisms and enter the food chain, and may also serve as vectors for chemical pollutants and pathogens, raising concerns about both ecosystem and human health impacts.
Occurrence, Sources, Transport, and Fate of Microplastics in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin
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Researchers documented that microplastics smaller than five millimeters are present throughout the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River system, from tributary streams to the Atlantic Ocean. This finding suggests that the Great Lakes region is both a major accumulation zone and a transport pathway for microplastic pollution into the broader marine environment.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.