The Lake Superior National Estuarian Research Reserve teamed up with the UMD Biology department and the Office of Sustainability to host their plastics display at UMD to inform people on how plastics end up in Lake Superior.
The display contains trash cleaned-up from Lake Superior, including things such as straws, bottles, sports equipment, children’s toys, and shoes. All the trash in the display was collected during a one-day cleanup of Lake Superior organized by Dr. Lorena Rios Mendoza, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Superior who studies environmental pollution and plastic debris in Great Lakes and oceans.
The display aims to promote less frequent and more responsible usage of all plastics and reiterates the idea that individual choices can help push us towards a greener community.
To check out the display, and learn more about how plastics enter Superior’s water, visit the Swenson Science Building main floor.