You might be surprised about what ends up in a lake. A dropped foam cup, a chunk of dock, a crate of plastic pellets — all of it finds its way into Lake Champlain, and most of it stays there.
What's happening?
Seven Days joined researchers aboard the University of Vermont's research vessel, the Marcelle Melosira, to examine what's polluting the lake.
The team found fragments, fibers, foam, and nurdles. The latter are tiny preproduction plastic beads that are used to make everything from shampoo bottles to takeout containers.
They're supposed to stay in factories. But the researchers believe they're spilled during shipping or dumped.
"The Lake Champlain Basin is over 8,000 square miles," UVM research interns Molly Moening and Erika Talley told Seven Days. "It could be on the top of Mount Mansfield, and you drop a piece of plastic, and it ends up in Lake Champlain."
They've even found rubber nurdles smaller than a millimeter. The worst part? They all look the same under a microscope.
And foam? It's everywhere. The researchers said it's now the most common pollutant in the lake.
"We get these big erosion events with trees falling in the river … I'm talking drift-trees," said Julie Silverman of the Conservation Law Foundation, per Seven Days. "And when those drift-trees hit a dock … that also gets ripped off and enters our waterway."
Why is this concerning?
If the big stuff stays in the water, it doesn't stay big for long.
"If no one removes the larger plastics soon, they will continue breaking down," Seven Days noted.
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All the time 💯 That means more microplastics to enter the bodies of fish, birds, and people. Microplastics have been linked to health issues and long-term damage in both humans and wildlife.
Americans consume over 70,000 microplastic particles a year, according to a University of Victoria study shared by Yale Environment 360. That's from the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe.
"This is like plan B for big oil," Silverman told Seven Days. "The more we get engaged in alternative energy sources, the more big oil has been looking for ways for more plastic."
What's being done about it?
In 2024, Vermont passed the Flood Safety Act to ban uncovered foam docks. Some boat owners now wrap foam in plastic to keep it from crumbling. Others have switched to air-filled flotation.
The Lake Champlain Basin Marine Debris Coalition also launched a debris-tracking app so locals can help scientists pinpoint where junk is coming from. More data, better solutions.
On an individual level, we can keep our waterways cleaner by using less plastic and properly disposing of plastic waste.
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