As Earth month unfolds in Michigan, the state’s unique position as the freshwater capital of the world becomes all the more interesting. Surrounded by the Great Lakes and urban waterways like the Detroit and Clinton Rivers, the region holds both incredible natural beauty and a colossal environmental challenge: plastic pollution.
It’s a problem that captured the attention of Hannah Tizedes at a young age.
“I grew up near Lake Erie,” she says. “My family did a lot of camping and spent a lot of time on the shore. Even as a kid, I was always collecting things—little colorful odds and ends from the shoreline. I didn’t realize it then, but I was already starting to engage with this issue.”
MIDTOWN DETROIT CLEAN UP
Today, Tizedes is the founder of The Cleanup Club, a grassroots organization dedicated to removing plastic debris from Michigan’s beaches, waterways, and city streets. To date, the group has removed nearly 100,000 pieces of debris from lakeshores alone—close to 16,000 pounds of waste that would otherwise be polluting local ecosystems or flowing into the Great Lakes.
That number doesn’t even account for the thousands of pieces of litter gathered in city cleanups across Detroit.
While her passion for the environment started early, it was during her time at Michigan State University that Tizedes began to see the bigger picture. “With a focus on Environmental and Sustainability Studies I started learning about waste – what happens to it, how we manage it, and how we can prevent it,” she says. “And when I learned that over 22 million pounds of plastic pollution are projected to enter the Great Lakes every year, I knew I had to do something.”
What makes The Cleanup Club especially unique is the way it blends community action with creative expression. Tizedes is an artist, and she’s found a way to make environmental work feel bright, inviting—and even a little fun.
“When people think of cleanups, they think of gross trash,” she laughs. “But there’s also this colorful, everyday side to it. You’d be amazed how many floss picks end up on shorelines. I started practicing artivism — bringing art and activism together in a way that makes people curious enough to learn more and get involved.”
The Cleanup Club is hard to miss. Volunteers wear pink vests and gather around a signature pink truck, creating a vibe that’s more party than punishment.
We try to make it fun,” says Tizedes. Most people don’t associate picking up trash with having a good time. But we’ve built an experience where people can meet someone new, enjoy being outdoors, and leave feeling like they’ve done something that matters.
The Club organizes a variety of events—from beach cleanups along Lake Erie to city-based efforts in Detroit and targeted cleanups along rivers that feed into the Great Lakes. During Earth Month, the pace picks up significantly, with multiple events per week and 2–3 per month during the rest of the year.
MIDTOWN DETROIT CLEAN UP
And the people who show up? They’re as diverse as Detroit itself.
“One of the things I’m most proud of is the range of people we attract,” says Tizedes. “We see all ages, political backgrounds, ethnicities. It’s amazing to see people come together for a shared purpose.”
Part of the challenge in Michigan, Tizedes explains, is that most people don’t connect the Great Lakes to pollution in their minds. “We’re not on the ocean, so the issue of plastic pollution isn’t always top of mind,” she says. “I’ve done cleanups on Great Lakes beaches where people ask, ‘Why? What are you even cleaning?’”
But everything is connected. “Even if you’re in the city, you’re impacting the Great Lakes. Trash from the middle of Detroit can end up in the river—and from there, the lakes. Every bit counts.”
That message is spreading. In addition to volunteers, The Cleanup Club partners with local businesses and organizations and is hoping to build even broader support in the years ahead.
My long-term vision is more people, more companies, and more awareness,” she says. “I’d love to get to a point where we didn’t have to do cleanups at all.
If Tizedes could inspire every Detroiter to make just one change, it wouldn’t require joining a club or attending an event. It would just require paying attention.
“Take care of the space around you,” she says. “Pick up the trash on your lawn. And if your neighbor sees you doing it, start a conversation. That’s where change begins.”
As The Cleanup Club continues to grow, the mission remains the same: protect the places we live, connect people through purpose, and make the act of caring for our environment something that feels as joyful as it is necessary.
“Everyone has a part to play,” says Tizedes. “We’re just trying to make that part a little easier—and a lot more fun.”
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