Putting a Lid on Plastic Pollution
The town of Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie’s South Bass Island is a popular tourist destination during the summer, hosting as many as 750,000 visitors every year. That’s great for the local economy, but all those people also bring something else to the island: lots and lots of plastic.
Ohio Sea Grant Extension Educator Jill Bartolotta and Stone Laboratory Education & Outreach Assistant Sue Bixler have estimated that Put-in-Bay tourists could eliminate 2.81 million plastic straws, 2.81 million plastic bags and 3.75 million plastic bottles a year by choosing reusable alternatives like metal water bottles and canvas bags. A two-year outreach project, with funding from NOAA’s Marine Debris Program, is aimed at encouraging those reusable alternatives both on the island and back at home.