06/18/2026
After another successful , AWRI’s Laker Raker bebot operator Jamie Cross takes us behind the scenes for the next phase: sorting the haul. Using simple tools like window screens, plastic storage totes, water, and a trusty kitchen utensil. Jamie gets to work, showing how a little ingenuity goes a long way.
First, Jamie sets up two totes filled with water, each topped with a window screen, plus one more screen placed on the ground. She scoops up the debris collected by the Laker Raker and adds it to the totes. Some debris floats, some sinks, so Jamie uses another window screen and a kitchen scoop to separate the finds into three piles: organic debris (sticks, twigs, leaves), plastics (everything from cigarette butts to container fragments), and non-plastic trash (like glass).
Once sorted, the debris is left to dry before Jamie counts the plastic types and weighs them. All the data is recorded, and thanks to Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup, Council of the Great Lakes Region, Pollution Probe, and Meijer, the data is available for the public to see. Want to see what has been picked up and how much in 2025? Check it out here:
https://www.greatlakesplasticcleanup.org/
