Janet Domenitz
Executive Director, MASSPIRG
Executive Director, MASSPIRG
Facilities Around the Northeast Produce the Second Most Common Ocean Polluting Microplastic
Boston – Plastic pellets and other microplastics that pollute the Atlantic Ocean, along with reservoirs and other waterways, pose environmental and potential public health threats. Environment America and U.S. PIRG have unveiled a map that names eight Massachusetts facilities in its two highest tiers of manufacturing pre-production microplastics like flakes or pellets.
Pre-production microplastics are raw plastic materials that are melted and molded into common products ranging from toothbrushes to plastic packaging. They can come in flake, powder, or most commonly in pellet form, and they frequently escape facilities at different points in the plastic supply chain, where they become a major source of pollution in our environment.
The map, based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data, shows facilities that produce plastic pellets and other pre-production microplastics. Researchers confirmed with manufacturers that at least 141 “Tier 1” facilities nationwide produce such microplastics, including two facilities in Massachusetts and one in both Rhode Island and New Hampshire. Rhode Island’s Pawtucket facility raises particular concern due to its proximity to the ocean, but all of the plants pose a threat of pollution to local reservoirs and waterways. Another 193 “Tier 2” facilities nationally are owned by a company or parent company that produces pre-production microplastics, but there was insufficient publicly available information to confirm if the particular facility produces pre-production microplastic. These facilities are located in 33 states and within 72% of the water basins in the continental United States. Massachusetts has six of these “Tier 2” facilities.
Due to their small size and light weight, plastic pellets are easily spilled as they travel through the supply chain. They accumulate in waterways where they can leach toxic additives as well as absorb toxic chemicals–including DDT, PCBs, and mercury, already in the water. That’s dangerous for birds, turtles and fish, who may mistake the pellets for food such as fish eggs or tadpoles. The map draws attention to sites where pellets are known or suspected to be produced, and lets U.S. residents know of the potential for pollution in their vicinity.
“Plastic pellet pollution has become ubiquitous in too many of our communities,” said PIRG’s Beyond Plastic Advocate Kelly Leviker, who compiled data for the map. “I’m hoping this resource will help people learn more about plastic manufacturing and potential pollution sources within their communities.”
United States Sen. Dick Durbin introduced the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act in Congress, which would ban discharges of plastic pellets from facilities or sources that make, use, package or transport them. With bipartisan co-sponsorship from 78 representatives and eight senators, the bill has been referred to the appropriate committees or subcommittees in each house of Congress. Massachusetts senator Ed Markey is a cosponsor on the bill.
“We already know how deeply Bay Staters care about reducing plastic pollution,” said Janet Domenitz, Director of MASSPIRG. “So many residents have gotten their cities and towns to pass resolutions limiting single use plastics. I think the Commonwealth needs this map to continue the plastic-reduction quest.”
While the legislation is pending in Congress, community scientists are gathering data about plastic pellets. This new map can help people find locations appropriate for nurdle hunts near them. So far, in MA, these hunts have taken place in Cape Cod and Dartmouth. At these events around the country, people have searched the surrounding areas of plastic manufacturing facilities and found run-off plastic pellets in woods, rivers, and oceans.