Plastic pellets found on Oregon beaches

Oregon was well-represented at the first annual International Plastic Pellet Count on Saturday, May 3rd, hosted by Environment America Research and Policy Center, the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Environmental Action, Nurdle Patrol, 5 Gyres, and Waterkeeper Alliance. 

The International Plastic Pellet Count was created with the goal of increasing awareness of plastic pellets as a major environmental pollutant and collecting data on where and how they are entering our environments.

Plastic pellets are pervasive in the environment

Plastic pellets, also called nurdles, are a form of pre-production plastic used to produce most of the plastic we consume and engage with in our daily lives. More than 10 trillion plastic pellets enter our oceans annually, making them a massive contributor to oceanic pollution. Once in our environments and ecosystems, plastic pellets pose huge hazards to fish and other wildlife.

Volunteers found pellets on Oregon beaches

As part of the International Plastic Pellet Count, twelve events took place in Oregon, with 25% of events finding one or more plastic pellets. In total, 363 pellets were collected. All of the pellets found in Oregon were found along the Oregon coast.

Newport, Oregon – 108 pellets were collected at an event in Newport by volunteers with Environment Oregon. 

Bandon, Oregon – 242 pellets were collected at Tish-A-Tang beach, near Bandon by volunteers from Shoreline Education for Awareness (SEA).

Coos Bay, Oregon – 13 pellets were found at Bastendorf Beach near Coos Bay by volunteers from South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve.

While the other 9 events did not find any pellets, the data they collected is still critical to understanding plastic pellets as a major source of ocean pollution and where they originate. Some of these events also helped to remove other forms of plastic pollution from our waterways and natural areas. 

In Portland, Oregon, a group of staff and volunteers from the Fund for the Public Interest cleaned up over 17 pounds of plastic and other trash from the banks of the Columbia river at Broughton Beach Park.