“Litter” ain’t the issue! Quit buying stuff made of plastic. Or volunteer in one of our kayaks. Whatever.

“At least five days a week, Eddie Olschansky can be found in his kayak on the Cuyahoga River, trash grabber in hand.

From big plastic tubes to small plastic bits, from styrofoam to tires and, apparently, basketballs, he retrieves the detritus that collects in and along the banks of the river, hoping to catch as much of it as he can before it finds its way to Lake Erie, where some 2,500 tons of plastic end up every year.

Olschansky, a Cleveland native, has been a one-man wrecking crew on a mission this year, but what was once simply a solo hobby became something a little bigger, now involving occasional small group outings. And though those are limited by necessity for now due to the pandemic, expect a more fully fledged operation in the future, including a nonprofit, large group outings and concerted outreach to teach Clevelanders the easiest way to clean the river is to fundamentally change how they behave as consumers from the start. ”