NEWS RELEASE
July 5, 2021

For Immediate Release

LAKE ONTARIO HAS FALLEN VICTIM TO PPE POLLUTION

• A Greener Future’s flagship program, Love Your Lake, has reached their goal of picking up 100,000 pieces of litter along Lake Ontario

• 265 cleanups with 66 volunteers from Kingston to Niagara Falls 

• Over 119,000 pieces of litter, including 463 pieces of PPE (masks and gloves) picked up by volunteers.

• Over a 635% increase of PPE litter recorded compared to Love Your Lake 2020.

• Kingston's Confederation Park volunteer picked up 68 masks total at one clean up.

TORONTO, ON – The Love Your Lake program, usually a public litter cleanup, but was adapted to suit pandemic conditions, is A Greener Future’s flagship program to clean up the shores of Lake Ontario during the months of May and June. Over 119,000 pieces of litter were picked up during the 265 cleanups between Kingston and Niagara Falls along the shores of Lake Ontario.

A notable difference in the litter discarded along Ontario’s beaches and parks was personal protective equipment (PPE). The influx of single-use plastics and PPE Ontarians used during the pandemic to keep safe (such as disposable masks, plastic gloves, plastic cutlery for take-out, plastic shopping bags) has resulted in landfills and lakes being polluted at never-before-seen levels.

“Last year we picked up a few pieces of PPE along the shores of Lake Ontario, but this year we’re finding it at almost every cleanup. It’s very hard to see this huge increase in such a short time especially since the impacts can be long term. I’m so grateful that we have a number of dedicated volunteers out there helping keep this debris out of the environment.”,  said Rochelle Byrne, Founder & Executive Director, A Greener Future. 

Currently, there have been over 460 pieces of PPE (including masks and gloves) picked up by volunteers. This is a 635% increase of PPE litter from what the Love Your Lake project recorded in 2020. At Kingston's Confederation Park alone, volunteer Justin Emerson, found a whopping 68 masks total.

“My fiancé and I were surprised to see just how many masks had made their way to the shoreline and parks. We have been noticing more cigarette butts these days during our walks but the amount of masks trumped those that day. It felt like there was a group event or stage nearby with the amount of masks we found.”, says Emerson.

While removing PPE and other single-use plastics along lakes, parks, and trails is not the solution to Canada’s rise in plastic pollution, the Love Your Lake project is a valuable response by encouraging individuals and communities to remove the left-behind plastic waste from entering local lakes and ecosystems. 

ABOUT A GREENER FUTURE

Founded in 2014, A Greener Future is a non-profit organization whose mission is to work within local communities to promote environmental protection through organized litter cleanups, educational programs, and events. A Greener Future is committed to creating a clean, healthy environment for future generations. Learn more about the Love Your Lake program here and visit A Greener Future on Facebook and Instagram.