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Good news, John!
Our state group PennEnvironment just settled a landmark lawsuit against Styropek USA, a company that was illegally dumping plastic into the Ohio River just north of Pittsburgh.[1]
PennEnvironment and Three Rivers Waterkeeper, represented by the attorneys at the National Environmental Law Center, sued Styropek to hold the company accountable for illegally releasing tiny plastic pellets into our waterways and the environment.
Plastic pellets, frequently referred to as "nurdles," are typically about the size of a lentil. Once released into the environment they act as "toxic sponges," absorbing toxic substances from the surrounding water, including pesticides, heavy metals, and even bacteria and viruses. Fish, birds and other wildlife can then accidentally swallow these toxic plastic bits.[2,3]
Concerned citizens first found plastic pellets floating in the Ohio River and nearby Raccoon Creek. They eventually traced the plastic upstream to a Styropek facility that manufactures plastic pellets. Outside the facility, they documented the pellets floating in the water and covering aquatic vegetation and the banks of the creek.
Now, with this settlement, Styropek is agreeing to completely redesign its stormwater collection to capture all of its pellet waste. This will have a direct impact on the Ohio River Basin and help protect clean water in western Pennsylvania.[4]
PennEnvironment Executive Director, David Masur, with Captain Evan Clark of Three Rivers Waterkeeper and Josh Kratka with the National Environmental Law Center.
After the redesign, Styropek must install new, cutting-edge monitoring technology to track and capture any plastic pellets that otherwise would have escaped the property and entered local waterways like Raccoon Creek and the Ohio River. The settlement imposes an automatic fine if that tech should detect even a single pellet.
In addition, Styropek will pay a $2.6 million penalty for violating the Clean Water Act. That penalty is one of the largest of its kind in Pennsylvania history, and will support efforts to clean up the plastic pellets that are already polluting the Raccoon Creek and Ohio River watershed.[5]
This landmark victory will protect the headwaters of the Ohio River Basin and the 5 million people who rely on it for clean water, including those near Styropek's Beaver County facility.[6] It will also set the standard that we should have had all along: Plastic manufacturers shouldn't be dumping any plastic into our water.
Dr. Heather Hulton VanTassel and Captain Evan Clark of Three Rivers Waterkeeper, PennEnvironment Executive Director David Masur, Deb Nardone of Foundation for Pennsylvania Watershed, and Matt Donohue of National Environmental Law Center (left to right) announcing the settlement of a plastic pollution lawsuit against Styropek.
Change starts small, but we're ready to expand this latest success to prevent plastic pellet pollution nationwide. It's estimated that 10 trillion plastic pellets are released into our environment every year.[7] With hundreds of plastic pellet facilities around the country, they should all be required to install new monitoring technology to keep pellets out of our rivers and streams.
Together, we can stop plastic pollution at the source.
Thank you,
Lisa Frank
Executive Director
P.S. Want to help tackle plastic pellet pollution and put wildlife over waste? Donate today.
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1. Julie Grant, "Plastic manufacturer agrees to $2.6 million settlement for pollution in Ohio River tributary," Allegheny Front, September 5, 2025.
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2. Ashleigh Deemer, "What are nurdles?," PennEnvironment, October 16, 2023.
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3. Yukie Mato, et. al., "Plastic Resin Pellets as a Transport Medium for Toxic Chemicals in the Marine Environment," Environmental Science & Technology, December 8, 2000.
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4. David Masur and Lisa Frank, "PennEnvironment, Three Rivers Waterkeeper settle plastic pollution lawsuit against Styropek USA," PennEnvironment, September 4, 2025.
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5. David Masur and Lisa Frank, "PennEnvironment, Three Rivers Waterkeeper settle plastic pollution lawsuit against Styropek USA," PennEnvironment, September 4, 2025.
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6. David Masur and Lisa Frank, "PennEnvironment, Three Rivers Waterkeeper settle plastic pollution lawsuit against Styropek USA," PennEnvironment, September 4, 2025.
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7. Natalie Greene and Lisa Frank, "Nurdles: The microplastic pollution you might find at the beach this summer," Environment America Research & Policy Center, August 22, 2025.
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