March 04, 2019

The Threat From Nurdles

2 minutes

Just when we thought we knew all about the environmental threats caused by plastics, environmentalists have identified yet another problem. It is called a nurdle.

Nurdles are tiny pellets of plastic resin no bigger than a pencil

eraser that manufacturers transform into packaging, plastic straws, water

bottles and all the other things that are wreaking havoc on the environment.

It turns out that nurdles themselves are a problem because billions of them are lost from production and supply chains during handling, shipping and production every year, spilling or washing into waterways. There is limited information on the extent of this kind of plastic pollution and global researchers are still struggling to make an accurate assessment. A study last year estimated that 3 million to 36 million pellets escape every year from just one small industrial area in Sweden.

Eunomia, a British environmental consultancy, contends that nurdles

are the second-largest source of microplastic pollution and estimated that the U.K.

could be unwittingly losing billions of pellets into the environment every

year.

New research is revealing the ubiquity of plastic pellets, from the

bellies of fish caught in the South Pacific, to the digestive tracks of

short-tailed albatross in the north and on the beaches of the Mediterranean.

A shareholder advocacy group called As You Sow has filed resolutions

with Chevron, DowDupont, Exxon Mobil, and Phillips 66 asking them to disclose

how many nurdles escape their production process each year and how they plan to

address the issue. Several of the

companies have responded with statements saying they are working to develop

solutions that keep plastic out of our environment.

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Web Links

There’s a Tiny Plastic Enemy Threatening the Planet’s Oceans

Photo, posted January 15, 2014, courtesy of Hillary Daniels via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

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By Randy Simon

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