EDGEWATER PARK, Ohio—Edgewater Park is home to some of Cleveland’s most popular beaches.
- Edgewater Park in Cleveland is home to some of the most popular beaches, but pollution is a problem
- The organization Drink Local. Drink Tap has been cleaning up local beaches for 10 years
- This summer, alone, volunteers have picked up around 10,000 pounds of trash
But popularity can lead to pollution.
“And so, we realized there was a huge need for cleaning up the beach because otherwise all of this trash would end up in our waterways,” said Erin Huber, founder, Drink Local. Drink Tap.
Erin HHuber founded Drink Local. Drink Tap 10 years ago.
She says this summer, alone, she and other volunteers have picked up around 10,000 pounds of trash at local beaches.
“it's very important for us to come down here and pick this stuff up until we stop creating it in the first place,” said Huber.
Cleveland Metroparks do take care of these beaches and they have large machines that come through and rake up bottles and large pieces of trash.
But these beach cleanups are more so about the little pieces of plastic that those machines can't pick up.
In fact, tiny plastic cigar tips are Lake Erie’s number one polluter.
“When people get up early on a Saturday and come down to the beach to pick up other people's trash, it really is inspiring,” said Huber. “I've seen the numbers grow and grow and grow over the years since 2010. And I think people are just becoming more aware. And when they pick up trash on the beach and they see like it's a lid from a plastic bottle or it is a plastic bottle or cigarette butt or plastic bag, I hope they start to think about what they're doing in their daily lives and how they can improve and stop this stuff from coming to the beach as well.”
Huber says this is their last beach clean-up of the year, but they’re already planning clean-ups for 2020.