We’re campaigning for Plastic Pellet Free Waters

Tiny plastic pellets, sometimes called “nurdles,” are being dumped into our waterways. A new bill from Delegate Clark could make this microplastic pollution illegal.

Plastic fragments have been found at the top of the Alps, in the deepest parts of our oceans and likely, in your local waterways. Some of this microplastic is in the form of plastic pellets. You may not be familiar with them, but these lentil-sized plastics pose a huge threat to our waters and wildlife. 

What are plastic pellets, and why are so many in our waterways?

Plastic pellets, also called nurdles, are the building blocks of plastic manufacturing. These microplastics are made to be melted and molded into everyday plastic products, everything from milk jugs to car bumpers. At plastic factories, pellets that fall on the floor or get contaminated with dirt are sometimes washed down drains. There are at least seven facilities in Virginia that produce such plastics. 

Because they’re small and lightweight, plastic pellets are often spilled during transport too. All of the largest North American freight train companies (by revenue) have spilled plastic pellets into the environment. In 2023, a CSX train crashed near the Anacostia River in Maryland and dumped pellets, and a few months later, three Norfolk Southern trains derailed and dumped pellets near the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania. 

Plastic pellets are extremely difficult to clean up once they reach our waterways, and often polluters are not held accountable. One example: In Louisiana, 743 million pellets were spilled from a container ship in the Port of New Orleans during a storm. It took weeks to begin clean-up while agencies and companies debated who was responsible, by which point a local expert estimated as many as 75 percent of the pellets had already swept downstream.

The Port of Virginia is the sixth largest port of exporting plastic and seventh for imports in the US and the export of plastics is growing.

Nurdles are a major source of marine microplastic

Ten trillion pellets are estimated to enter the ocean each year, making them a major source of marine microplastic. They dot the shores of the James River in Virginia, the beaches of Florida and are piled up on South Carolina and Texas coasts. Inland waters are at risk too.  A study of 66 beaches in the Great Lakes region found 60 percent contained nurdles.

Every plastic pellet that has ever been spilled or washed into our waters is likely out there in some form or another. That is because nurdles can take anywhere from 100 to 1,000 years to break down.

Plastic pellets are a toxic threat

Once in the environment, it’s far too easy for a bird, fish or turtle to mistake plastic pellets for food. If they mistake too many pellets for food, they can starve, as the plastic blocks their digestive tracts.

Plastic pellets both leach toxic additives and absorb toxic chemicals, including DDT, PCBs, and mercury. These types of pollutants bioaccumulate, meaning they become more concentrated and more toxic as they move up the food chain. If we eat an animal or fish that has ingested nurdles, the plastic and toxic chemicals from that animal will end up in our system, too. Microplastics themselves have been found throughout the human body.

Studies also show PCBs can decrease animal fertility, cause cancer, and the effects of these endocrine-disrupting chemicals can be passed on to offspring, which indicates the chemicals are causing genetic changes. A study completed near one of the largest ports in South America, in Brazil, which also has plastic pellet pollution, found that isopods become more aggressive, specifically cannibalistic, when exposed to heightened levels of plastic pellets in water.

Our existing clean water laws don’t do enough to stop plastic pellet pollution

The Clean Water Act is supposed to stop companies from dumping pollution into our rivers, but rules regarding plastic pellets are outdated and often not enforced. Formosa Plastics in Texas released millions of nurdles from their factory near Lavaca Bay for years despite having a permit allowing for only “trace amounts,” leading to a lawsuit by the San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper. 

The large settlement hasn’t been enough to convince other companies to stop pellet pollution: during a “nurdle hunt” in December 2024, we found the shores of the James River littered with preproduction plastic pellets directly downriver from a plastic production facility.

Our waters should be free from microplastic

Companies shouldn’t be allowed to dump or spill plastic into our waterways. That’s why we’re working to pass HB2178 from Delegate Clark. The bill stipulates zero discharge of plastic pellets in stormwater permits into water sources or land outside a facility. It would require measures to prevent pellet loss from any facilities that make, store, handle or transfer plastic pellets.

It’s a common-sense solution, but few realize how big a problem plastic pellets are. That’s why we’re building a powerful coalition of local water protectors and concerned citizens to educate the public and convince leaderss to act, before another 10 trillion pellets pour into the ocean. And, when we find companies violating existing clean water laws, we’re filing lawsuits to stop pellet pollution.

Environment Virginia has a long history of effective work to reduce plastic waste. Thanks to our combination of grassroots organizing and professional research and advocacy, Virginia has become a leader for action on plastic pollution. Virginia has passed a ban on single use foam cups and takeout containers, intentional balloon releases and localities now have the authority to put a fee on plastic bags. We still have a lot of work to do and HB 2178 is a common sense solution to cut off the tap of plastic pollution.