Science is at the core of what we do and who we are. This year, our Science Programs Director, Carolynn Box saw the results of her work on a three year study receive a lot of buzz in the plastic pollution movement with extensive coverage from the press including the Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and Wired.
Earlier this month, we held a symposium in partnership with the San Francisco Estuary Institute sharing the outcomes of this scientific study on microplastics in the San Francisco Bay. The findings were staggering: over 7 trillion pieces of microplastics enter the San Francisco Bay each year!
We sampled multiple pathways and sources including surface water, wastewater and stormwater, sediment and even fish. We found microplastic pollution everywhere we looked at some of the highest concentrations measured to date.
While 17 billion microplastics enter the Bay from wastewater treatment plants each year, 7 trillion microplastics enter the Bay through stormwater. Stormwater runoff contributes 300 times more microplastics than wastewater.
Sources of microplastics included tires, textiles, single-use plastics, fishing gear, microbeads, and construction debris. Fibers were the most significant particles observed and appear to be the main microplastics eaten by fish.
But this issue is not isolated to the Bay alone. All watersheds face the same problem. So what can we do?
With the symposium full of policymakers, environmental organizations and individual activists, we presented our top recommendations:
- Be vocal: Support upcoming local and state policies that phase out single-use plastics and packaging.
- Be proactive: Use rain gardens and smart landscape design to reduce microplastics in creeks and run offs.
- Be innovative: Mandate new filter technologies on washing machines to prevent harmful microfibers from entering wastewater.
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There is no single silver bullet solution to plastic pollution. You first have to understand the sources. With this study, we now have further evidence of the ever expanding problem. We’ll be using this information to change policy by championing data-driven solutions.
These recommendations can be used to support action in other communities around California and beyond. Can we count on your support to make them happen?
Donate today and support our staff in leading science-supported policy efforts to stop the flow of microplastics into California’s waters.
- Marcus Eriksen, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer
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