Dart helps communities reduce Great Lakes litter

Communities in the Great Lakes region are taking advantage of Dart-funded grants to capture litter before it can pollute local waterways.

Dart-funded grants paid for the installation of devices – called LittaTraps and Gutter Bins – that block trash, oil and sediment from flowing into storm drains. We offered the devices in partnership with the Council of the Great Lakes Region as part of our commitment to investing in real solutions that make measurable environmental change.

The devices were installed in 2024 in:

• Thunder Bay, Ontario: 10 LittaTraps
• Holland, MI: 8 Gutter Bins
• Normal, IL: 4 LittaTraps

Researchers identified about 1,500 pieces of debris collected last year from traps in Thunder Bay, which is on Lake Superior. The report noted that cigarette butts made up 60% of the collected debris, while about 18% came from plastic fragments, film and pellets.