What do 7,300 cars have to do with the Great Lakes? They are equivalent in weight to the amount of plastic that enters the lakes every year, or approximately 22 million pounds according to a study completed by Rochester Institute of Technology.
Most of the plastic that is found in Lake Superior comes from the Twin Ports and Thunder Bay area, adding up to 700,000 pounds annually. Not only is the plastic showing up in fish, but also is accounting for 80 percent of the litter found along the shorelines of the Great Lakes.
‘A World Without Plastic Pollution’ is the 2018 campaign set by the Earth Day Network, world-wide coordinator of Earth Day activities. This day of awareness is celebrated by over 1 billion people. One of LSBE courses this semester has taken the initiative to combine their coursework with the international plastic campaign.
This spring, a UMD Event Marketing class taught by faculty member Nicole Wilde, is raising awareness about plastics, specifically in the Twin Ports and Great Lakes area. They are using concepts such as experiential marketing, and applying it to an Earth Day event. They've created the Go Green at Glensheen event.
The event will be held at Glensheen from 12-4 pm, on Earth Day, April 22 and is free and open to the public. Chelly Townsend, executive director of Duluth Entertainment Convention Center will discuss how she implements sustainability into the workplace. UMD students Maddie Sinclair and Beca Livermont will explain how plastics can be reduced in everyday life. Other activities include: making repurposed plastic planters, yoga, bonfire with s’mores, a cleanup of the Glensheen grounds, and free food and coffee. (Read More)