{"id":2698,"date":"2025-09-17T11:42:37","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T17:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/environmentamerica.org\/colorado\/center\/?post_type=update&p=2698"},"modified":"2025-09-17T09:47:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T15:47:07","slug":"nearly-50000-plastic-pellets-found-through-citizen-science-effort","status":"publish","type":"update","link":"https:\/\/environmentamerica.org\/colorado\/center\/updates\/nearly-50000-plastic-pellets-found-through-citizen-science-effort\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly 50,000 plastic pellets found through citizen science effort"},"featured_media":58582,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":""},"campaign_tax":[],"display_option":[],"issue_tax":[],"region_tax":[],"state":[8,2],"topic_tax":[110],"class_list":["post-2698","update","type-update","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"helper_taxonomies":{"topics":[110],"collection":false,"press_type":false,"person_type":false,"resource_type":false,"event_type":false,"campaigns":187,"department":false,"level":false,"states":[2,8],"act_option":false,"display_option":false,"primary":{"topic":110}},"featured_image":58582,"caption_override":"","excerpt":"The International Plastic Pellet Count brought together hundreds of people to collect microplastics and better understand plastic pellet pollution.","hide_hero_image":false},"helper_people_group":{"title":"Authors","entities":[{"type":"dynamic","dynamic_person":{"site":16,"people":"16263"},"information":{"name":"","image":null,"role":"","biography":"","contact":{"twitter":"","facebook":"","email":"","phone":""}}},{"type":"dynamic","dynamic_person":{"site":15,"people":"122"},"information":{"name":"","image":null,"role":"","biography":"","contact":{"twitter":"","facebook":"","email":"","phone":""}}}]},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Microplastics are a rising health concern around the world, with rising levels found not only in our environment but also in our bodies. One of the main forms of microplastics entering our environment are plastic pellets, a pre-production microplastic that serves as the building block for all the plastic we use in our daily lives.<\/span>\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, plastic pellets are dumped or spilled in our waterways and environments at incredibly high rates - with more than <\/span>10 trillion pellets entering our oceans annually<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn May, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Environment America Research and Policy Center, Environmental Action, Nurdle Patrol, 5 Gyres, and Waterkeeper Alliance organized the first annual International Plastic Pellet Count. The International Plastic Pellet Count is an international citizen science effort which aims to both document and quantify the extent of the plastic pellet pollution problem globally.<\/span>\r\n\r\nNow, the finalized results of the event have been compiled in the official International Plastic Pellet Count Report.<\/a><\/span>\r\n\r\nThe results showcased the widespread nature of plastic pellet pollution in our environment. In total, almost 50,000 pellets were collected across 14 countries and 29 states. The prevalence of pellets in our environment was also demonstrated by the 68% of counts which found at least one pellet.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhile pellets were found in most surveyed locations, events which did not find pellets provide powerful data about where plastic pellets might be entering - or being released into - our environment. This knowledge is crucial in creating solutions, including the passage of legislation addressing plastic pellet pollution in our waters.<\/span>","":null}}],"featured_content":""},"yoast_head":"\nNearly 50,000 plastic pellets found through citizen science effort<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The International Plastic Pellet Count brought together hundreds of people to collect microplastics and better understand plastic pellet pollution.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/environmentamerica.org\/colorado\/center\/updates\/nearly-50000-plastic-pellets-found-through-citizen-science-effort\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nearly 50,000 plastic pellets found through citizen science effort\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" 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