Editing Great Lakes (section)

==== Plastic ====
Researchers have found that more than {{convert|22|e6lb}} of plastic end up in the Great Lakes each year.<ref name=agl>{{cite web |title = Great Lakes Plastic Pollution |url = https://greatlakes.org/great-lakes-plastic-pollution-fighting-for-plastic-free-water/ |access-date = April 21, 2023 |publisher = Alliance for the Great Lakes |language = en-US }}</ref> Plastics in the water break up into very small particles known as [[microplastics]]. Microplastics can also come from synthetic clothing washed down our drains.<ref name=varsity>{{cite news |first = Nicole |last = Szabo |date = September 5, 2021 |title = U of T researchers discover microplastics in all samples of Great Lakes fish |url = https://thevarsity.ca/2021/09/04/ontario-freshwater-microplastics-lakes/ |access-date = April 21, 2023 |website = The Varsity |language = en-US }}</ref> [[Plastic waste]] found in the lakes include [[single-use plastic]]s, plastics used in packaging, takeout containers as well as [[Plastic pellet pollution|pre-production pellets]] produced by [[plastics industry]].<ref>{{cite news |first1 = Inayat |last1 = Singh |first2 = Alice |last2 = Hopton |date = October 1, 2021 |title = Industrial plastic is spilling into Great Lakes, and no one's regulating it, experts warn |publisher = CBC News |url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/plastics-waste-great-lakes-water-1.6185621 |access-date = April 21, 2023 }}</ref> High concentrations of microplastics were discovered in 100 percent of the fish that were studied by researchers from the Rochman Lab. About {{convert|50|e6lb}} of fish is harvested each year from Great Lakes which has raised concerns on how this might affect human health.<ref name=varsity/> Microscopic pieces of plastic have also been found in drinking water coming from Great Lakes. It is estimated that nearly 40 million people in the region rely on drinking water from the Great Lakes.<ref name=agl/>

A number of self-operating floating devices called Seabin, were put in the Great Lakes to capture plastic trash as part of the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup project. The project captured 74,000 pieces of trash using this technology between 2020 and 2021; however, it does not claim to catch up with {{convert|22|e6lb}} of plastic that ends up in Great Lakes every year. The production, consumption, and throwing away of plastics seems to remain the core of Great Lakes trash problem.<ref>{{Cite web |last = Redelmeier |first = Rebecca |date = October 14, 2022 |title = How a fleet of robots could help solve the Great Lakes plastic pollution problem |url = https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/14/23401381/great-lakes-plastic-pollution-cleanup-tech-robots |access-date = April 21, 2023 |website = The Verge |language = en-US }}</ref>