RELEASE: Plastic pellet pollution found on beaches across Florida

Pellets found in eight locations, half of those surveyed,  including one spill of more than 1500 

Tampa Bay, FL – A search conducted by Environment Florida Research & Policy Center of 16 locations across the state of Florida revealed plastic pellet pollution in eight places. The pollution ranged from one or two pellets to a spill of over 1500 in one spot close to the Ascend Performance Materials factory in Cantonment, north of Pensacola. In that location, 1515 pellets were collected in 20 minutes, a fraction of the entire spill. In a report of facilities that produce plastic pellets across the US, the Ascend factory is the only confirmed pellet production facility in Florida. 

Globally, an estimated 10 trillion plastic pellets are dumped into oceans each year,. These pellets, or ‘nurdles’ as they are sometimes called, are lentil sized balls that are transported by truck, ship and train to facilities where they are melted down and molded into everyday items like sunglasses or flower pots. Because of their size, the pellets are often spilled during transportation, ending up in waterways, on beaches and inside the bellies of wildlife, leading to malnutrition and starvation.

 “Plastic pellets can be deadly to our iconic birds, sea turtles and marine life.” said Environment Florida Research & Policy Center Advocate Mia McCormick. “This pollution is preventable and allowing it to spill into our environment should be illegal. Our leaders in Congress can take steps towards keeping our water and wildlife safe by supporting the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act.”

The Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act would make it illegal to dump the pellets and provide packing regulations that aim to reduce spills. As of November 14 the bill has bipartisan support from 87 cosponsors in the House and 10 in the Senate. Only three : state Reps. Darren Soto, Kathy Castor and Jared Moskowitz, are from Florida. 

“Our series of pellet patrols shows that we need Florida’s congressional leaders to take this type of pollution seriously and support the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act. I applaud state Reps. Soto, Castor and Moskowitz for supporting the Act and urge others to join them,” said McCormick.

Several other ocean-friendly organizations helped host the patrols including the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Saturdays are for the Beach, and Keep Brevard County Beautiful. A map of the locations searched across Florida can be found here on the Environment Florida Research & Policy website.