Inverness, Florida – The world has a nurdle problem. Nurdles are the little white beads that, when melted down, make the plastic objects we use every day. To turtles, fish, and birds they look like seeds or fish eggs. When they are spilled during shipment or manufacturing, they become lethal to wildlife. Nurdles kill turtles. We’ve known this for over 50 years. Nurdles are now the world’s second largest source of marine microplastic pollution by weight. They take forever to break down. Other toxic substances stick to them. Pockets of the washed-up pellets dot the shore of the Gulf of Mexico as well as Florida’s Atlantic coast.
Volunteer Chuck Hutterli of Inverness’ TOO FAR group explained the role that nurdles have played in his environmental activism. While living in Ontario, he encountered pellets by the thousands on the shore of Lake Superior. The pellets had probably been scattered after a nearby rail shipping accident years before. Hutterli devoted himself to nurdle cleanups and protesting to government officials. When he moved to Florida, he joined TOO FAR to continue to educate others and fight plastic pollution. This year, the members chose to join Citrus County’s Adopt-a-Highway program. Their objective is to prevent roadside trash from ending up in our waterways. Apparently, roadside trash is easy to find. The group collected 360 pounds on the first outing.
The well-organized Adopt-a-Highway program has plenty of needy roadsides to adopt. It’s a fine opportunity for residents, families, social groups or businesses to beautify roads and prevent trash from drifting downstream. Coordinator Jamie Edwards can fill you in (352-527-5571). TOO FAR group’s efforts are a step towards mitigating the nurdle problem and promoting environmental conservation in Citrus County.
Originally reported by Citrus County Chronicle – Inverness
Sources: Citrus County Chronicle – Inverness
