Communities Around the World Find Plastic Pellets in Their Local Waterways

This spring, citizen scientists across the country and the globe participated in the International Plastic Pellet Count, collecting small, usually round so-called “nurdles” on the shores of their local waterways.

Today, a report detailing the findings of the citizen scientists was published: participants at 200 sites in 14 countries counted nearly 50,000 plastic pellets on the banks of lakes, rivers and on coasts.

Volunteers, sometimes armed with sieves but usually just their fingers, picked out as many as possible in 10-minute intervals at each site. Around 68 percent of counts found at least one pellet.

The global effort was designed to raise awareness about plastic pollution, especially for pre-production plastic, which comes in the form of pellets, flakes and powders, among others.