Hi,

This Sunday is World Beach Day, a time to honor and protect the sandy oases around the globe. As we approach this landmark, it’s crucial to address the growing threat of plastic pollution to our shores, particularly from nurdles.¹

Nurdles, tiny plastic beads, are the raw materials for the plastic products we use every day. However, their supply chain is like a broken pipe, constantly pouring into the environment. Every year, 230,000 tonnes of nurdles pollute the world’s oceans and threaten environmental and human health wherever they are carried.²

Nurdles break down into microplastics that invade more than just beaches, infiltrating people’s breast milk, testicles, and vital organs.³ The plastic pellets can also act as rafts for dangerous bacteria such as E Coli and Cholera, spreading the threat of disease while simultaneously polluting the environment.

Congress has introduced the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act (H.R.7634, S.686) to create regulations for the nurdles’ supply chain and limit the amount of leakage into the environment.^4,5

Honor World Beach Day by reaching out to your Congressperson today and encouraging them to support this necessary and protective bill.

Beach clean-up efforts can help alleviate the pollution, but don’t provide an enduring and effective solution. Volunteers at Camber Sands beach removed 3,000 nurdles from the sand only to be taunted by thousands more.⁶ Better legislation and regulation of the Nurdles supply chain could reduce pollution by 95%, protecting beaches at the source rather than fighting the overwhelming current of plastic consequences.

This bill has already gained bipartisan support, but it still requires more for it to pass and actually make a difference. Take action now and let your voice be heard! Write a letter to your Congressperson asking them to support the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act, and protect American beaches and our health. 

Together,

Kathleen Rogers
President

Footnotes:

1. Sky News: https://news.sky.com/story/why-beach-cleans-matter-as-new-research-gives-scientists-hope-for-polluted-oceans-12962030

2. The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/29/nurdles-plastic-pellets-environmental-ocean-spills-toxic-waste-not-classified-hazardous

3. Association of Medical Colleges: https://www.aamc.org/news/microplastics-are-inside-us-all-what-does-mean-our-health 

4. House Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/7634

5. Senate Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/2337/text

6. The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/17/nurdle-collecting-plastic-pellets-beaches