The Meijer company has donated $1 million toward cleaning up the Great Lakes. The money will be used by the Council of the Great Lakes Region to clean up beaches and waterways throughout the Midwest and to educate the public about plastics pollution.
Eighty percent of litter that washes up on beaches is plastic. The Council of the Great Lakes Region uses a solar-powered robot, called a Bebot, to clean beaches. The robots clean 32,000 square feet of beach per hour.
The Council also uses pixie drones, which navigate marinas and other waterways and can collect up to 200 pounds of litter per use while collecting important measurements of water health.
Meijer has committed to using gutter bins to prevent trash, including microplastics, from entering waterways at their retail locations.
Vik Srinivasan, Senior Vice President of Properties and Real Estate at Meijer, said, “We are lucky to live near the beautiful Great Lakes, which not only provide immense economic value to the region, but they also act as a hub for recreation, travel and biodiversity. It’s our responsibility to protect them.”
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
