New findings by the University of Toronto Trash Team and PortsToronto is raising awareness about Toronto harbour’s pollution problem, as reported by the Toronto Star.
Over a four-month period, specially engineered seabins — think floating trash collectors — removed 100 kilograms of plastic waste, or almost 100,000 pieces of plastic from Lake Ontario.
Chelsea Rochman, assistant professor with the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and head of operations at the U of T Trash Team, told the Star that 2022 was a “big year” for pollution.
“Our trash trapping season included the highest number of trash traps yet,” said Rochman.
The report also noted the collection of several “fatbergs,” which are masses of household grease, baby wipes and toilet paper.
With this discovery, the U of T Trash Team is reminding everyone to, “only flush the three Ps! (pee, poop and paper).”
In the News:
- Hundreds of greasy ‘fatbergs’ along with 100K pieces of plastic removed from Toronto Harbour
February 8, 2023 | Toronto Star