In the previous question, we compared the Shoreline Cleanup to all 110 samples. What if we compared the Shoreline Cleanup to two high-risk beaches where pollution “sinks” in the back bays? These two beaches are typical sources when collecting for the Shoreline Cleanup. It turns out the average of the two is very different from our Shoreline Cleanup.
Why is this important? In the future, TrentU will test other lakes that do not collect a Shoreline Cleanup. How can TrentU collect a representative sample of microplastics? Searching back bays for similar pollution collection points (unraked, crown land) is not a good proxy for a Shoreline Cleanup. In the future, there may be a better measure of the “real” pollution on the lake; for now, the Shoreline Cleanup is the only measure we have. This is one way the study is helping microplastic research in Canada.
