How to help remove plastic, debris from the Great Lakes - Lakeshore Cleanup Coalition
The Lakeshore Cleanup Coalition is made up of seven organizations from Ottawa and Allegan counties. The coalition's members organize beach and river cleanups on a regular basis. According to Kelly Goward, watershed manager at the Outdoor Discovery Center Network, the partnership began in the summer of 2020, when the Macatawa Area Coordinating Council received a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency. “The goal of the coalition is to reduce litter and trash that gets into the Great Lakes,” Goward said. “So hosting volunteer cleanups along our beaches and in the connecting waterways, and then also doing some public outreach and education to just raise awareness of the issue, that it is a big issue in the Great Lakes.”