Top 5 Most Commonly Littered Items in the Great Lakes

A windy day can be a very revealing thing. You often don't see too much trash around the city until there's a black plastic bag caught in the tree in front of your house, flapping aggressively in the wind. Litter is everywhere, even at the lowest point on Earth, 36,000 feet deep in the Pacific Ocean.

Michigan and the Great Lakes are not free of this. In fact, tens of thousands of trash are removed from the Great Lakes every year. The group that cleans up all this trash has compiled a list of the top 5 most common things littered along the lakeshore.

Great Lakes Plastic Problem

The Alliance for the Great Lakes (AGL), a nonprofit that aims to keep the Great Lakes clean. This nonprofit has been removing trash from the lakeshores since 1970. Since the AGL began collecting trash litter, it estimates they've picked up over 500 thousand pounds of plastic pollution. The Alliance's work is very important, considering the Rochester Institute of Technology estimates that over 20 million pounds of plastic end up in the Great Lakes every year.

This plastic problem, largely from single-use plastics like water bottles and plastic bags, is not exclusive to Michigan; rather, it is the largest trash issue facing the globe. Plastics do not biodegrade, meaning they do not naturally break down and stay around for hundreds of years.

Michigan's Most Littered Items

Historically, cigarette filters have been the most littered item in the US, and it isn't even close. The National Litter Survey revealed the most littered single-use plastic items in the US, and cigarette filters took the cake by a landslide, with 9.7 BILLION filters lying around the United States. From 2003-2013, these butts were the most common item collected by AGL volunteers,

However, this is no longer the case.  In 2025, the most littered items will be ranked as follows:

#1: "Tiny Trash" / Microplastics

But that changed starting in 2014 when "tiny trash," aka micro plastics (plastic that was either manufactured to be very small or pieces of plastic that have shrunk down). This accounts for 86% of Great Lakes litter on beaches. 

#2: Cigarette Filters/Butts

The former #1 stands at #2 now. It still stands dauntingly at #1 nationwide, but to be dethroned by the pop you got at the gas station last week is a scary thought. Most cigarette filters are not biodegradable, and those that are can take years to break down. Brands like Greenbutts have created a more eco-friendly filter that breaks down.

#3: Foam Pieces (Styrofoam, etc)

Tiny foam pieces come in at #3. This can range anywhere from Styrofoam to-go boxes and Styrofoam cups to chunks of mattresses. To-go boxes are a major issue in that they do not break down. They are large and pose a risk to wildlife.

#4: Plastic Bottle Cap

Plastic water bottles are one of the largest waste producers according to the National Litter Survey, but these are actually a one-two punch because of the plastic bottle cap on top. These little caps are choking hazards for animals and are wasteful.

#5: Food Wrappers

Sure, that McDonald's Double Bacon Cheeseburger was great, but how long did it take for you to unwrap it and toss that wrapping back into the bag? Do you ever think about where that thin wrapper goes after it held your food for 3 minutes between the restaurant and your hands? Well, apparently it goes into the Great Lakes.

Be more mindful of where your trash goes, and if you're on the beach, especially, pick up after yourself. You can learn more about the Great Lakes pollution issues and how to volunteer for the AGL here.