12/16/2025
A clear breakdown of Lake Erie’s growing microplastics challenge.
“Death by a thousand cuts” is the right description of microplastics in Lake Erie.
Lake Erie is not getting hit by one big plastic disaster. It is getting worn down by millions of small inputs that add up over time. Bags, bottles, foam, cigarette butts, and even industrial pellets. Then it breaks down, sometimes over decades, into particles that are much harder to deal with.
At CLEANR, we focus on one everyday source people often overlook: laundry. Every wash can shed tiny synthetic fibers. Our washing machine filter captures those fibers before they leave the home, because prevention beats cleanup.
https://www.cleveland.com/news/2025/12/death-by-a-thousand-cuts-lake-erie-microplastics-crisis-is-worse-than-scientists-realized.html
We have a few more answers about the "astronomically higher" levels of microplastics in Cleveland's drinking water source, but without more information, how can anyone figure out how to solve the problem?