Cigarette Butts, Food Waste Account For Almost All Chicago Beach Trash
By Stephen Gossett in News on Dec 27, 2016 9:22PM
Even with the warm up arriving, a day at the beach might not be front of mind right at the moment. But when the season swings and you head back to the shore, be sure watch underfoot for cigarette butts and food litter. Those two categories make up the vast majority of beach waste in Chicago, according to a recent study from Loyola.
The study compares findings from nine Great Lakes beaches, including Ohio St. plus three other Illinois locations. Smoking-related waste accounted for nearly 42 percent of all litter at Ohio St., with food-related garbage (wrappers, bottles, bottle caps, etc.) making up 35 percent.
The findings were in line with previous studies, according to lead researcher Tim Hoellein, which incorporated Oak Street and North Avenue beaches. “Between 80 and 85 percent” of Chicago beach garbage falls into those two categories. Most of rest is made up of “small litter,” basically little bits of glass and plastic that are too tiny to identify.
Here on the freshwater, we get essentially just as much junk as ocean beaches see, Hoellein told Chicagoist, just different kinds. Ocean beaches have garbage that poses greater “ghost fishing” risks. “Derelict and lost fishing gear—cages, hooks, nets—can kill marine wildlife. We don’t find that as much in the Great Lakes region.
It’s a real asset that our lake wildlife isn’t facing those risks as much,” Hoellein said.
More than 57,000 bits of trash were gathered by volunteers from the Alliance for the Great Lakes between the months of April and October from 2003 through 2014 for the study. Researchers will incorporate the data "to better understand the materials' environmental impacts and what policies might make the biggest impact on litter reduction." Hoellein said.