Trash frozen to the ground during winter making its way into Lake Michigan, rivers

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Now that winter is in the rear-view mirror and temperatures are on the upswing, some are catching a glimpse of what all that snow and ice helped to conceal and hold in place on land -- litter in and around Lake Michigan -- and area rivers. Some say it's worse this year due to our extended and harsh winter.

"Just bags floating around, and like, tops of sodas," one person told FOX6 News.

"This year, I've seen boxes floating down the river. I've seen bottles," another person said.

Near area rivers, like the Milwaukee River and the Menomonee River, trash is present.

"There's a predictable amount of it that comes down every year. It's been coming down for weeks now. I think it's coming down in pulses," Cheryl Nenn with the non-profit environmental group "Milwaukee Riverkeeper" said.

Nenn says it's common to see this happen after winter comes to an end, but says it's rare to see the trash surface this late in the year.

"We were still seeing ice come down even last week," Nenn said.

The extended winter and once extremely iced-over water melted slowly and late, and that delayed the process of carrying garbage toward and eventually into the water.

Unsafe water conditions so far have prevented boats designed to pick up the trash from taking care of it.

"I think it's kinda frustrating that people will see the trash and there's no way to get to it yet," Nenn said.

This trash is not only an eyesore. It can also be deadly for wildlife, like seagulls.

"If they eat too much plastic, they can die from that," Nenn said.

"It's disappointing to see all this trash. No one wants to walk around and see all this pollution. It's not cool," an individual told FOX6 News.