Volunteers and Milwaukee Riverkeeper are working to keep plastic out of Lake Michigan — and this time, they have a robot helping them do it.
Milwaukee Riverkeeper deployed its beach-cleaning robot, known as a "BeBot" and affectionately nicknamed "Mister Sifter," at Klode Park beach in Whitefish Bay. The machine sifts through sand to remove microplastics before they reach Lake Michigan.
Katie Rademacher, Milwaukee Riverkeeper's research and restoration manager, said the robot allows the team to measure exactly what they're collecting.
"We quantify and kind of characterize the waste that we collect to know how many small pieces of plastic we're picking up."
Mister Sifter shakes out sand while larger material — rocks, trash, and plastic — collects in the back, then gets released for volunteers to sort through by hand.
Watch: Robot sifter joins volunteers at Klode Park beach to pull plastic fromLake Michigan shoreline
"It doesn't sound like a lot, but usually we're getting about one pound of plastic. But all these pieces are teeny tiny… if you were at the beach doing a hand cleanup, it would take forever to find all those little bits and pieces," Rademacher said.
The robot's haul typically includes single-use plastics such as straws, cigarette butts, and bottle caps.
"That can include cigarette butts, straws, and little tiny fragments of plastic that were once something big," Rademacher said.
Operating the machine has its lighter moments, too.
"It's like you drive it like a Mario Kart thing. It's fun to drive," Rademacher said.
The stakes, however, go well beyond litter. Millions of people rely on Lake Michigan for drinking water, and plastic pollution poses a direct threat to human health.
Leah Holloway, education and sustainability manager, said the problem extends far beyond what people can see.
"We tend to think of plastic as an environmental problem, and it is… but it also is harming human health too. We are ingesting it. It's in our water, it's in our air, it's in our food."
Holloway said the longer plastic stays in the environment, the more dangerous it becomes.
"The longer it's in the environment, the smaller pieces it can break down into."
She also warned of broader consequences tied to plastic production.
"Plastic is going to be a bigger driver of climate change than coal in the very near future."
For Holloway, the issue is deeply personal.
"I'm eating all this plastic too. It's in my body… there's endocrine disruptors, there's carcinogens in this plastic that's going to impact my health and my family's health."
Her message to beach goers is straightforward.
"Finding something that is single-use plastic that you are using, but that maybe there's an alternative… that's really helpful."
Rademacher said the Great Lakes region carries a responsibility to protect its freshwater resources.
"We drink Lake Michigan water… we're really lucky where we live that there's so much fresh water, but that's not the case across the United States or across the world, so we just have to protect this freshwater system."
She said her commitment to the work runs deep.
"I've always cared about the environment ever since I was a little kid… I feel like it really fills my cup to work on this."
The connection between everyday habits and the health of the lake is something Rademacher wants people to understand.
"Everything that happens on the land is connected to the water… if you take some time and don't leave your juice box on the soccer field, it's not going to end up here eventually."
Rademacher said she hopes the effort inspires people to rethink their daily choices.
"I hope people take away that plastic is a big problem, right? But we can be part of the solution. Choices we make every day to use less plastic or use reusable products really makes a difference."
Milwaukee Riverkeeper plans to deploy the BeBot weekly at area beaches throughout the summer as the organization continues tracking the types of plastic pollution appearing along Lake Michigan's shoreline. Holloway encouraged the community to get involved.
"We'll be doing more beach cleanups throughout the summer… come join us."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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