Plastic pollution growing in Great Lakes

Lorena M. Rios Mendoza, a University of Wisconsin-Superior scientist, has found that floating plastic debris has become a serious problem in the Great Lakes, the American Chemical Society has reported.

Speaking at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, Mendoza reported that the massive production of plastics—a 500 percent increase since 1980—coupled with inadequate disposal techniques has led to the infiltration of plastic pollution in the Great Lakes.

The plastic pollution is especially dangerous to area wildlife because the small size of many of the plastic particles is easily absorbed by various fish and bird species that confuse the plastics for food.