News | Drink Local Drink Tap Exceeds Half a Million Pieces of Trash Collected From Lake Erie’s Shores

Cleveland, October 24, 2022 — Drink Local Drink Tap, the Ohio City nonprofit, is thrilled to announce that they have surpassed half a million pieces of trash picked up and disposed of from Lake Erie shores – 533,000 pieces to be more exact!

Since 2010, Drink Local Drink Tap (DLDT) has hosted 127 clean-ups in neighborhoods and on Lake Erie beaches. At the conclusion of Drink Local Drink Tap’s 2022 Summer clean-up season, over 1,300 volunteers helped pick up over 2,000 pounds of trash during the 31 clean-ups. These efforts pushed the organization’s grand total over half a million pieces of trash, which is over 15,000 pounds. Drink Local Drink Tap thanks, Moen, for being our official beach cleanup partner this year.

During Drink Local Drink Tap beach clean-ups, volunteers track categories of garbage and report the data to The Alliance for the Great Lakes Adopt-a-Beach program. This data is studied to better understand the health of public spaces and to advocate for Great Lakes conservation.

Cleaning up local beaches such as Edgewater and Perkins beaches not only make these parks safer for friends and families to enjoy throughout the year, but it also protects the Great Lakes ecosystem by minimizing the amounts of plastics that fish and birds can ingest. Given the sensitivity of aquatic ecosystems, removing trash from beaches helps maintain the natural biodiversity found in Lake Erie. Taking care of our local water sources is growing more and more important as severe climate events affect countries around the world.

Help us reach ONE MILLION PIECES! Information about the Drink Local Drink Tap 2023 Summer Cleanup Season will be announced later this winter. To learn more and get involved in future DLDT beach cleanups, please sign up for our monthly newsletter: bit.ly/DLDTNewsletter

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Since 2010, Drink Local Drink Tap has worked both domestically in Northeast Ohio and internationally in Uganda to improve water equity and quality. Over 42,000 people now have access to clean water and over 16,000 people have sanitation as a result of Drink Local Drink Tap’s water infrastructure projects in Uganda. With the help of Cleveland-based volunteers, Drink Local Drink Tap has also removed over 15,000 pounds of trash through beach cleanups and engaged over 18,500 young people in doing so. Our mission is to improve water equity through projects, programming, and partnerships because we believe clean water is a human right.

Website: drinklocaldrinktap.org
Contact: Erin Huber – erin@drinklocaldrinktap.org
Drink Local Drink Tap, Executive Director