Clean water groups urge Congress to tackle microplastics

Tiny plastic pellets, also called nurdles, pose big problems for local waterways.

Garrick Schmitt | TPIN
PennEnvironment Executive Director David Masur finding plastic pellets, or "nurdles," in Raccoon Creek

Plastic fragments have been found in the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, the deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean and likely in your own local waterways. Some of this microplastic is in the form of “nurdles”– lentil-sized plastic pellets used in plastic manufacturing that are dumped or spilled into waterways by the millions. Ten trillion nurdles now enter our oceans each year, where it’s easy for a bird, fish or turtle to mistake these microplastics for food.

We need to protect our waterways, not pollute them with plastic. Environment America, the Clean Water Network and Waterkeeper Alliance on April 3 joined more than 150 local, state and national clean water and environmental organizations to urge Congress to pass the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act. You can read the letter here.

Add your name: Tell your senator to support the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act.

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