Originally published in Lake of the Woods Area News, Volume 55, Number 1, Early Spring 2025
Did you know that in 2021, The Province of Ontario passed Bill 228, Keeping Polystyrene Out of Ontario’s Lakes and Rivers Act? This Act was passed to apply to:
- Sale of foam docks: A person who sells or offers to sell a floating dock, floating platform or buoy shall ensure that any expanded or extruded polystyrene in the dock, platform or buoy is fully encapsulated.
- Construction of foam docks: A person who constructs or reconstructs a floating dock, floating platform or buoy shall ensure that any expanded or extruded polystyrene in the dock, platform or buoy is fully encapsulated.
What’s the issue?
How often have you seen a piece of deteriorated plastic foam washed up along your shoreline? Not only is it unsightly, but it can also be harmful to our lakes. Over time, this plastic foam will break down due to exposure to natural elements like sunlight. The disintegrated products can vary in size from small pieces that fish and other aquatic organisms mistake as food, to microscopic microplastics that can be incidentally consumed by wildlife, aquatic life, and perhaps by cottagers who consume water from the lake.
Microplastics can be as small as a nanometer, which is much smaller than the 1.0-micron filters many of us use to treat lake water.
According to the Centre for Environmental Health, styrene (a breakdown product of polystyrene) is carcinogenic and can disrupt human hormones.
What can I do?
- Survey your shoreline structures to see if unencapsulated (exposed) foam products, such as dock floats, are being exposed to water. If they look worn and deteriorating, plan to replace these floats with encapsulated products. Although less buoyant, air-filled floats may also be an option you want to explore. Replacement of exposed foam floats can be costly, but it is important to protect the lake water quality and the aquatic life and wildlife we all cherish.
- Unfortunately, polystyrene/STYROFOAM can’t be recycled at the Winnipeg or Kenora recycling centres. Neither can it be reused once it deteriorates. Sadly, once landfilled, it will take hundreds or thousands of years to decompose, so limit your purchase when possible, and look for safer alternatives.
- Inspect foam products, equipment and toys you might have stored in your shed or boathouse. From personal experience, many of my older pool noodles have seen better days, and I will be looking for alternatives and replacement before they shed any more microplastics into the lake.
- If you see pieces of foam floating in the lake, take the time to pick them up and dispose of the waste away from the lake.
Better choices for lake life toys
Many traditional beach and lake toys typically don’t last long, as they’re not built to last. They can crack, chip and tear after being exposed to waves, sun, rocks and sand. Many are made of a form of plastics and as discussed earlier, when they break down these can turn into harmful microplastics.
Look for products made from more sustainable, eco-friendly materials, like natural rubber, bamboo, wood, or food-grade silicone as examples.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be many options to replace products like pool noodles. Therefore, if you decide to hang on to these water toys, make sure to replace them when they start to deteriorate.
These are a few steps we can take to tread a little more wisely in lake country.
Styrofoam vs Polystyrene vs Polyethylene… What’s the difference?
Polystyrene is a type of plastic made from petroleum. STYROFOAM (a registered trademark of DuPont) is a brand of expanded polystyrene foam that is commonly used for insulation, packaging and some cottage products. STYROFOAM is used widely, including for construction insulation, but it is also used to float objects like docks, and buoys. Most often the word “Styrofoam” is generically used to describe expanded polystyrene foam products like disposable coffee cups, coolers and other foam packaging materials, none of which are actually STYROFOAM (Source: universalconstructionfoam.com).
Polystyrene and polyethylene are some of the most commonly used plastics. Both are lightweight, and available in many different forms, making them widely used. For example, the pool noodles we all love to use at the lake are made of polyethylene. All of these, and other foam products, can shed microplastics.
