WHAT ARE NURDLES ?
Nurdles sound like a child’s toy, but they are very bad for the environment and for human health. Nurdles are tiny (less than 5 mm) plastic pellets that are created from the refining process of oil, placed in plastic bags and transported to factories to be melted down and formed into thousands of products. Many nurdles are spilled, lost or washed down drains flowing into wastewater systems, into rivers and into oceans. The number is astounding—230,000 metric tons reach the ocean every year! Here they are consumed by marine wildlife which we consume—including hidden microplastics. These microplastics are in our blood, organs and even brains. Studies are ongoing for direct links to diseases. Can we afford to continue as usual? Environmental degradation and human health are at risk.
The answer is obvious. We must do all we can to stem the overwhelming number of plastics that are daily affecting our environment and human health. The pollution begins with drilling for oil and continues through the refining processes to melting the pellets to dealing with the “forever” products that clog our streams, litter our land, reside in our soil and in the air we breathe. We also know that each of the manufacturing processes increases greenhouse gas emissions. We also know Greenhouse gas emissions are a leading cause of manmade climate change—which leads to the rising seas, floods, droughts, terrible storms, wildfires and more. It will take both individual and political action to reduce the “plastic tide”. It will take a change in society to begin to solve the problem.
In March of this year a bill called The Plastic Pellet Free Water Act was introduced into the House of Representatives. It calls for the EPA to find ways of regulating plastic pellet production and shipment—especially calling for better filtration systems to keep nurdles out of waterways. This is a good first step—if it becomes law.
What can we do? We can begin with eliminating as much plastic as we can from our lives. We must be role models of how to live without the easy convenience of plastic products. We can inform ourselves about the role of plastics in environmental degradation and human health and spread the word to others. We can speak up in our local communities. We can advocate by asking Congress to pass this present bill and consider other actions. We can vote for policymakers that understand the plastic problem and we can donate to organizations that work toward a heathier environment.
Earth Steward Action: Begin reducing plastic use as much as you can.
Sources: https://www.trvst.world/waste-recycling/plastic-pollution/what-are-nurdles/