New Great Lakes Cleanup Data Reveals Shifting Patterns of Plastic Pollution
- The Cleanup Team
- 8 hours ago
- 5 min read
Expanded cleanup efforts across water, shorelines, and stormwater systems are providing new insights into the sources, movement, and impacts of plastic pollution in the Great Lakes region.
TORONTO - 26 May, 2026 - The Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup (GLPC), a joint initiative of Pollution Probe and the CGLR Foundation, the charitable arm of the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR), is releasing new findings from its 2025 season, revealing evolving patterns of plastic pollution across the Great Lakes region and reinforcing the need for coordinated, evidence-based solutions to prevent plastic from entering the environment in the first place.
With expanded deployment of innovative plastic capture technologies, including the launch of mobile devices like the first BeBot beach cleaning robot in Canada, plastic is now being removed across multiple environments, including water, shorelines and stormwater systems. The 2025 data reveals a broader range of materials removed from the environment, including larger, and more intact, identifiable items, providing a detailed understanding of how plastic moves through the Great Lakes ecosystem and where intervention efforts can have the greatest impact.
For the 2025 season, the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup also introduced more detailed tracking categories for plastic debris, including packaging and food-related materials, recreational items such as toys and hunting and fishing gear, personal care products, and smoking-related waste. This more granular approach is helping to identify emerging trends and pollution pathways, while generating critical data to support further research and policy development.
“This year’s data gives us an even more detailed picture of what plastic pollution actually looks like across the region,” said Melissa DeYoung, Chief Executive Officer at Pollution Probe. “The shifts we’re seeing in the types of plastic and where they show up are exactly the kind of insight we need to strengthen prevention strategies, support evidence-based solutions, and continue to focus our efforts to end plastic pollution where they will have the greatest impact in protecting the Great Lakes.”
The 2025 findings reinforce that plastic pollution varies significantly depending on where it is collected. Water-based technologies tend to capture a much greater proportion of small plastic pieces, while shorelines and upstream environments often reveal larger, more identifiable debris. The more detailed plastic categories mean the initiative is better able to compare plastic pollution profiles across technologies and environments, a critical step for helping to inform further research, support evidence-based policy, and guide more effective solutions to reduce and prevent plastic pollution across the Great Lakes region.
“By expanding how and where we collect data, we’re building a clearer picture of plastic pollution across the Great Lakes and helping target solutions where they will have the greatest impact,” said Vance Badawey, President & CEO for the Council of the Great Lakes Region. “Enhanced data collection allows us to better identify pollution sources, understand how plastics move through the ecosystem, and support smarter interventions at the source. Just as importantly, these insights help make the issue more visible and tangible for communities, industry, and policymakers alike. Continued investment in this work is essential, and we look forward to building on this momentum in the season ahead.”
While close to 32,500 pieces and 42 kg of plastic and other debris were sorted and characterized at sites across the Great Lakes region during the 2025 season, many of the initiative’s plastic capture technologies continue to remove debris even when data is not reported, meaning the total number of pieces collected over the season is significantly higher.
Key Findings and Insights
The initiative has now removed and reported data for more than 277,000 pieces of plastic and debris from more than 2,800 data submissions across its network.
Small and large hard fragments were the most common items collected across all environments, followed by cigarette butts. Smoking-related items made up nearly 13% of all debris collected. Nicotine pouches, an item not previously captured in the data, were increasingly found this season, possibly reflective of the growing popularity of these products.
Packaging and food-related items, including food wrappers, containers, bags, and cups, were another major category of debris, accounting for more than 8% of the total collected in 2025. Food wrappers alone made up nearly 5% of all debris. These findings continue to highlight the prevalence of commonly used consumer items in the environment and the need for stronger prevention and reduction strategies.
A significantly higher proportion of small plastic pieces are found in the lakes, while upstream environments, including shorelines and stormwater systems, tend to contain larger and more identifiable debris. This is likely due to plastic breaking down into smaller pieces as it moves downstream toward the lakes.
Small foam continues to be found more frequently in the water than in other environments. Potential sources include construction activities in urban areas as well as dock foam.
Small hard fragments are consistently found in large amounts across all environments, reinforcing how widespread and persistent this type of plastic pollution is throughout the Great Lakes region.
About the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup
The Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup (GLPC), a joint initiative of Pollution Probe and the CGLR Foundation, the charitable arm of the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR), uses innovative capture technologies to prevent and remove plastic in the Great Lakes, from the St. Lawrence River to Lake Superior and everywhere in between. By analyzing the plastic collected, the initiative provides vital information about pollution sources and pathways, while engaging local communities, government, industry, and consumers around how we can all work together to end plastic pollution. The largest initiative of its kind in North America, the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup is made possible through support from a network of funders and collaborators across the binational Great Lakes region.
Visit www.greatlakesplasticcleanup.org to learn more.
Pollution Probe is a national, not-for-profit, charitable organization that pursues environmental gains by productively working with governments, industry and the public. With a steadfast commitment to clean air, clean water and a healthy planet, Pollution Probe has been at the forefront of environmental issues and action since its inception in 1969.
CGLR, comprised of CGLR Canada, the CGLR Canada Foundation, CGLR USA, and the CGLR Foundation, is a network of charitable and non-charitable organizations in the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence region focused on accelerating the regional transition to a sustainable future by uniquely bringing diverse perspectives and interests together to explore and solve our most pressing socioeconomic and environmental challenges as one North American Great Lakes region. Through its work, CGLR is striving to create the first sustainable region in the world.
For more information please contact:
Lisa Raffaele, Media Partner
Bubblegum Canada
(647) 896-0743
Jasmine Ault
Manager, Marketing & Communications
Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR)
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