CLEVELAND, Ohio — Lake Erie has 46,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometer.
Bottled water is twice as bad, with about 10.4 particles per liter.
"That’s 65 percent of the plastic market."
There’s no real market for recycled plastic, since you can’t know exactly what it’s in it, in order to make a new product.
Then it washes up on shore, making up about 80 percent of the litter on beaches.
Cleveland restaurants, including Market Garden and Melt, are eliminating straws to curb waste.
Here’s what else you can do to help, Mason says: Use a metal water bottle to fill up with tap water or other beverages, rather than buy disposable bottles and cups.
Bring reusable bags to do your shopping Refuse a straw at restaurants.
You could carry your own metal straw, if you want.
For example, she said, by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.