Green Bay Wisconsin Waterfront News & Great Lakes News (Page 1,659)

Thanks to our amazing volunteers, Adopt-a-Beach celebrated three big firsts in 2025.

Adopt-a-Beach on your phone

This spring, our beach cleanup program launched a new system that allows volunteers to tally litter data on their phones.

“Adopt-a-Beach volunteers helped shape this project from start to finish,” says Olivia Reda, Volunteer Engagement Manager. “Volunteers asked for a way to tally litter data on their phones. They gave us feedback as the system was being developed. A small group of volunteers tested out the system last year. And volunteers are still helping improve it with their responses to a recent survey.”

The new system provides many benefits for Adopt-a-Beach volunteers. “It saves waste to use your phone instead of paper forms,” says Reda, “and you don’t have to deal with the wind blowing away your paper.” Volunteers get instant feedback on how many pieces of litter they’ve picked up without having to count hash marks on paper forms. Team Leaders – especially leaders of large cleanups – “save a lot of time” using phones for check-in and data collection. “It’s a smoother process overall,” says Reda. “Team Leaders spend less time on logistics, so there’s more time for them to educate and advocate at their cleanups.”

 “It’s great to see how ideas from our volunteers improve Adopt-a-Beach for everyone!” says Reda.

10 million pieces of litter

Tallying litter year after year helped reveal an amazing accomplishment. Volunteers have removed more than 10 million pieces of litter from the five Great Lakes’ shorelines since Adopt-a-Beach started tracking litter data in 2003.

Keeping 10 million pieces of litter out of our lakes is no small feat. And Adopt-a-Beach volunteers have done even more. The data they’ve collected show litter patterns, raise awareness about plastic pollution, and help pass policies to reduce plastic pollution and litter.

“One of the things I love about Adopt-a-Beach is how long our volunteers’ work lasts,” says Reda. “On the days of their cleanups, volunteers keep plastic and other trash out of the Great Lakes. People who see the cleanups are often inspired to do cleanups of their own weeks or months later. And the litter data our volunteers collect becomes part of a 20-plus year dataset that’s helping communities find solutions to plastic pollution.”

A groundbreaking report

In April, the Alliance released a groundbreaking report based on the dataset volunteers have collected. The report, which found that the vast majority of litter volunteers collect is plastic, gained national media attention and has strengthened national and state-level efforts to reduce the scourge of Great Lakes plastic pollution.

“Thanks to Adopt-a-Beach volunteers, we know that 86% of shoreline litter is plastic,” says Reda, who authored the report. “40% is in the ‘tiny trash’ category. Much of the plastic comes from single-use items.”

Plastic pollution threatens human health and the environment. The report outlines solutions that include businesses, governments, and manufacturers.

Thanks to volunteers’ work, momentum is building to reduce plastic pollution. You can read about some recent wins in the fight against plastic pollution here.

The numbers for 2024

Thank you to all the Adopt-a-Beach Team Leaders and volunteers who cared for their shorelines this year! Here are some highlights of what they accomplished in 2024: 

A special thanks to this year’s top Adopt-a-Beach sponsors: Dr. Scholl Foundation, Freudenberg, HSBC, Meijer, and Unilever.

The post 3 Big Firsts for Adopt-a-Beach appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Original Article

News - Alliance for the Great Lakes

News - Alliance for the Great Lakes

https://greatlakes.org/2024/12/3-big-firsts-for-adopt-a-beach/

Judy Freed