On June 22, 2021, the City of Toledo held a media event at Shantee Creek where the first of seven trash capture devices was installed to capture trash before it can flow into Lake Erie. Over the next two years, Toledo will be working to prevent trash from entering Lake Erie in cooperation with partners such as:
- Partners for Clean Streams
- University of Toledo
- Keep Toledo-Lucas County Beautiful
- Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments
- Toledo Public Schools
Toledo received funding for this project from an EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Trash-Free Waters grant. The city is installing seven litter trapping nets along shorelines and at the mouths of storm sewer outfalls on rivers that drain to Lake Erie. These nets are calculated to prevent about 2,500 tons of trash and debris from entering Lake Erie each year. They are also expected to improve about 25 acres of waterways and 50 acres of adjacent lands