The Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Hope College and the Ottawa County Road Commission are partnering to trap and study roadside litter entering storm drains. Equipment was provided by the charitable arm of the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR) in the United States, the CGLR Foundation, through a grant to Hope College thanks to generous funding from Michigan-based Dart Container Corporation, a leading manufacturer of sustainable beverage and food packaging solutions.
Gutter Bins were installed in eight locations around the greater Holland area starting August 1. They will be monitored several times per year as part of the CGLR’s commitment to capture and remove plastic litter before it enters the Great Lakes and the region’s waterways as a part of its Circular Great Lakes initiative, a multi-sector effort that is forging a future without plastics waste and pollution.
The Great Lakes hold about 84 percent of the surface freshwater in North America and about 90 percent of freshwater in the United States, sustaining wildlife and providing drinking water to some 40 million people in the United States and Canada. The region’s other rivers and lakes, small and large, also play a vital role in supporting a healthy environment, economic activity, and the public’s well-being. Keeping these freshwater resources clean and free of roadside litter, including consumer products like food and beverage containers and cigarette butts, and industrial pollution is essential.
The deployment of innovative catch basin technologies will provide insight into the amount and type of plastic litter and pollution being released into public spaces and the environment. More importantly, as part of CGLR’s Circular Great Lakes initiative, the data will help shape conversations with consumers, legislators, and business leaders about the impacts of plastic litter and the accidental release of industrial plastic pellets on the Great Lakes and the environment, and what can be done to eliminate this source of pollution.
“The Gutter Bins trap materials less than a millimeter in diameter that wash into curbside storm drains,” said Dr. Brian Bodenbender, who is a professor of geology and environmental science at Hope and is leading the college’s participation in the project. “We have placed the traps in commercial and industrial areas. Hope College students will be monitoring the traps over the coming year so we can learn where local litter clean-up and prevention efforts will be most effective.”
“Dart Container is excited to sponsor this grant program to help protect the Great Lakes region and its ecosystem," said Libby Rice, sustainability program manager for Dart Container. "Environmental stewardship is an essential piece of Dart’s sustainability platform and we’re committed to protecting the communities in which we live and, work and play. Our partnership with the CGLR Foundation and the Circular Great Lakes Initiative is one of many ways Dart is investing in our communities and inspiring others to make a meaningful difference.”
“In the Great Lakes alone, it is estimated that 20 million pounds of plastics, mostly public litter, could be entering the lakes each year through a variety of sources and pathways including local stormwater catch basins,” said Mark Fisher, president and CEO of the CGLR. “With the installation of innovative technologies like the LittaTrap and Gutter Bin in these catch basins, we are able to not only capture and remove this litter before it enters our waterways, but also show local residents what we are finding and what impacts this litter is having on our natural environment so that we can stop it from happening.”
Additional information about the initiative is available at CGLR’s Circular Great Lakes website at circulargreatlakes.org/captureandcleanup
About Hope College
Hope College is a four-year, co-educational, undergraduate, residential, Christian liberal arts college of approximately 3,200 students. The mission of Hope College, which is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, is to educate students for lives of leadership and service in a global society through academic and co-curricular programs of recognized excellence in the liberal arts and in the context of the historic Christian faith. Founded in 1866 and located in Holland, Michigan, the college offers majors through more than 50 departments leading to a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Hope has received national acclaim on multiple measures through the years and is nationally respected as a pioneer and leader in providing an outstanding education by engaging undergraduate students in inquiry-based learning through collaborative research with faculty mentors.
About Dart Container Corporation
Dart makes everyday products that give people the freedom to enjoy the food & drinks they love, wherever they are. From to-go containers and dinnerware to tamper-evident food packaging and even the red Solo cup, Dart products have been keeping people on the go and having fun for more than 60 years. Headquartered in Mason, MI, Dart has a decades-long record of environmental leadership, innovating and investing in sustainability practices that are practical and results-focused to reduce landfill waste, marine debris and litter. Learn more about Dart’s sustainability commitments at dartcontainer.com/sustainability.
About CGLR
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 binational 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 additional information, please visit https://councilgreatlakesregion.org/