Hope College receives grant from CGLR Foundation to work on project to keep litter from Great Lakes

Hope College has begun a new project that will help keep Michigan’s Great Lakes cleaner. The Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Hope College is working with the Ottawa County Road Commission, Dart Container Corporation, and the CGLR Foundation, which is the charitable arm of the Council of the Great Lakes Region, in order to install equipment that is meant to keep trash, litter, and plastic from entering the region’s waterways in an effort to keep the Great Lakes cleaner.

The Gutter Bins and LittaTraps have been installed around Holland, Michigan to trap plastic and other litter that attempts to enter storm sewer drains around curbs. The technology was installed as part of the Circular Great Lakes initiative of the Council of the Great Lakes Region, which aims to keep waste and pollution from entering the Great Lakes and to collect data about the pollution and litter it sees, and then that data is used to have conversations with the community and legislators about the importance of keeping one of the world’s largest sources of fresh water clean. 

According to an article on Hope College’s website, Mark Fisher, who serves as the president and CEO of the Council of the Great Lakes Region, explained the importance of the project. He is quoted as saying, “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. 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.”

Dr. Brian Bodenbender, a professor of geology and environmental science at Hope College, explained the school’s involvement with the project. He said, “The Gutter Bins trap materials less than a millimeter in diameter that wash into curbside storm drains. 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 Corporation provided the funding to the Council of the Great Lakes Region that is allowing for partnerships like the one with Hope College to occur so that the Circular Great Lakes initiative can be a far reaching one.

Libby Rice, who serves as the sustainability program manager for Dart Container, explained the company’s involvement in the initiative. She is quoted as saying, “Dart Container is excited to sponsor this grant program to help protect the Great Lakes region and its ecosystem. 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.”

For more information about Hope College, visit the school’s website.