Plastics Problems: A Case for Lady Bird lake

Austin, Texas, is known for its big blue skies, recreational activities, green space, and lovely scooter-infested lakes, isn’t it beautiful? Ladybird lake has quite a history of pollution under its belt, from things like toxic algae to quite a lot of trash. These two issues are not the only threats to Lady Bird lake, one of the biggest is plastic pollution.

Plastics Pollution in our City

If you go out on a lovely walk down to the trails near the lake, you can see lots of trash piled up in certain areas, a lot of this trash is in fact plastic-based materials that will not break down. This trash can come from lazy individuals who simply don’t want to find a trashcan near the lake or even litter that finds its way to the lake through wind or rain storms. This plastic however is a problem in Ladybird, Some animals have been hurt by the clogging of the lake that often occurs after heavy rainstorms. This clogging increases not only trash in the lake but bacteria and other pathogens.  The animals are often tempted to drink the water, especially during the hot months, and often get sick and die due to the filthiness of the lake. 

Even if you don’t have an animal, these plastics do more than harm your local dog, they also harm the local environment. As the amount of plastic pollution increases, the relient of liter as a source of food for certain species increases due to the ease and amount of the resource in the lake that would otherwise not be available. These species, when they feed on plastic waste, get their fill, but it clogs the river even more by not allowing the animals to feed on things like rocks or fallen branches, which creates more trash in and around the lake. This cycle is quite a dangerous one, and it provides an insight into how badly plastic pollution in our rivers and lakes can exponentially grow faster than it would otherwise. 

Scooters in the Water?

It’s not just small plastics that are the problem though, it’s also things like huge scooters. It has recently become an issue that people are throwing the lime scooters into lady bird lake, in 2020 over 300 scooters were found in the river. Why has this become an issue you ask? It seems like people are doing it to try and be funny or to get attention through social media. In one video, you can see someone laugh and throw multiple scooters as a joke for social media. These kinds of activities are quite stupid, and they’re not something that’s harmless. These scooters have things like lithium batteries, plastics, and rubber that pollute the water and cause toxic chemicals to leach and kill our animals. 

Overall, plastics leach chemicals, clog our lakes, and provide an unstable environment for our flora and fauna, as well as our wildlife and our pets. The best thing we can do as Austinites is to respect our environment and our lake for many generations to come so we can show our children the beauty of Austin, Texas.

What can we do?

So how can you make a difference? Austin has many clean-ups to help keep our local bodies of water healthy and clean.

1. Keep Austin Beautiful: Since 2009, the organization Keep Austin Beautiful has been hosting bi-monthly clean-ups around Lady Bird Lake. The next clean up takes place April 15, which is also Keep Austin Beautiful Day. Information about clean-ups and instructions for volunteering can be found on their website.
2. Kayak Clean Up Crew: Every Saturday, volunteers get a free two-hour boat rental, a trash bag, gloves, and grabbers to help clean up trash in Lady Bird Lake. Information on times and members can be found on Rowing Dock and Meetup.
3. Lake Travis Cleanup: Volunteers help clean up the parks, lakes, and waterways of Lake Travis. Even professional divers come out to get plastics and other harmful waste in the lake.

Edited by Lauren