NORTH CAROLINA — Plastic in our waters isn't a new issue, but it's always been something we can see and remove. Now, scientists are finding microplastics that are too small to be seen with the human eye.

What You Need To Know

  • Fifteen riverkeepers across North Carolina collect water and soil samples from the rivers every two months

  • The samples are analyzed for microplastics in a lab

  • Next year, they will install devices to capture trash in the rivers

 

Larry Baldwin holds a deep passion for the environment and keeping the planet clean.

“I get really, really frustrated when I see how much trash is actually going in to these waters,” he says. “Plastics don't really break down. They break apart. So what you end up with is these really minute, almost not quite microscopic, but very small particles of plastic, which is why they're called microplastics.”

In order to better understand these microplastics, 10 nonprofit environmental organizations launched a collaborative study. Riverkeepers collect water and soil samples every two months from rivers all across North Carolina.

“You almost hope that you don't get any results, but I'm thinking that across the state, we're probably going to see some real issues,” Baldwin says.

After the riverkeepers gather the samples, they send them to Bonnie Monteleone at the Plastic Ocean Project. Monteleone tests these samples for microplastics in the lab.

“We've all heard of needle in a haystack. This is more like finding a fiber in a haystack,” she says.

The process isn't easy. She uses high-end experimentation to try to distinguish which particles are natural substances and which are microplastics. All that is done with particles so small that even plankton can ingest it.

“As we drill down and we're finding these particles at the microscopic level, we can then figure out that if an organism can ingest these particles, then those particles can work their way up the food web,” Monteleone says.

The first year of this two-year study is focused on collecting and analyzing the river samples. During the second year, the goal is to install devices in the rivers that capture trash so it can be removed more easily.

“It's been said that by the year 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than there are fish,” Baldwin says. “I'm not sure it's gonna take that long.”

Baldwin says it's important that we stop thinking of our environment as a dumping ground and start taking steps to keep it clean.

“We gotta take control of this stuff,” he says. “Mother Earth is not going to be here forever the way we're treating her. And sooner or later she's going to say I've had enough, and it's going to start to have an impact.”