CARLSBAD — Local volunteers contributed to a nationwide effort to remove tiny plastic beads, called nurdles, from the environment, especially near bodies of water.
On May 2, 13 volunteers gathered at Rotary Park in Carlsbad Village to search for the lentil-sized nurdles near the rail lines. The plastic pellets, which are the building blocks of plastic production, often spill during rail transport.
The Carlsbad volunteers found 697 pellets during the event, according to a news release. The cleanup was one of hundreds of nurdle-finding events taking place in May as part of the second annual International Plastic Pellet Count.
Representatives from San Diego Coastkeeper, Surfrider Foundation, Oceana and CALPIRG participated in the event.
Patrick McDonough, an attorney representing San Diego Coastkeeper, said pellet counts help provide data for oversight purposes and monitor the effectiveness of source-control protocols over time.
San Diego Coastkeeper and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation reached a resolution with BNSF Railway over plastic pellets that spill during transport, resulting in new nationwide protocols for sealing rail cars carrying the pellets, according to a news release.
“Due to their size, these pellets are extremely difficult to clean up once they’re released into the environment, so containing them at the source is critically important,” McDonough said.
Research published by the Pew Charitable Trusts estimates that around 10 trillion plastic pellet particles enter the world’s oceans each year. The report identified pellets as the second-largest source of microplastic leakage by mass, behind tire dust.
“Nurdles may be small, but their harmful impact on our waterways and wildlife is significant,” said Fiona Hines, a legislative advocate with the CALPIRG Education Fund. “Californians deserve clean beaches and healthy oceans, not a coastline littered with plastic.”
Another concern involving microplastics near oceans is the risk of entering the food supply.
Studies by researchers at Portland State University found microplastics in nearly all categories of sampled fish.
Research from the National Center for Biotechnology Information within the National Institutes of Health found that microplastics “are currently considered an omnipresent contaminant that constitutes a potential risk both for aquatic organisms that ingest them and for humans through the consumption of fishery products.”
Lisa Gilfillan of Oceana said preventing the pellets from reaching the ocean is critical to limiting their widespread environmental impacts.
“These tiny pieces of plastic are difficult to clean up, contributing to the growing plastic pollution crisis that threatens our coasts, communities, and wildlife,” Gilfillan said. “By documenting plastic pellets, we can bring awareness to this source of plastic pollution and push for solutions that protect California waters for future generations.”
The International Plastic Pellet Count is scheduled to continue throughout May, after which organizers plan to release a report similar to the 2025 edition documenting findings and recommendations.
