We've all heard about a giant island of plastic floating around the ocean but its just as bad in our local waterways including the Great Lakes.
One recent study found microplastic particles – fragments measuring less then five millimeters – in globally sourced tap water and beer brewed with water from the Great Lakes.
Using that study's calculations of how much plastic pollution per person enters the water in coastal regions, one of us (Matthew Hoffman) has estimated that around 10,000 tons of plastic enter the Great Lakes annually.
More on the study at Daily Mail.