Keep an Eye Out for ‘Nurdles’ the Next Time You Surf in San Diego
San Diego beaches are some of the best in the world, but they can experience a problem common to any shoreline: nurdles.
If you aren’t familiar with the term “nurdles,” you’re not alone. However, even if you haven’t heard the word, you’ve likely seen what it describes on San Diego beaches.
Nurdles, in fact, are small pieces of microplastics that have washed up on shore. They can be about the size of a fish egg, but their impact on the local ecosystem and surf is much, much larger.
Mark O’Connor, a spokesperson for Surfrider San Diego, told NBC 7 that the nurdles are often mistaken for food by birds, fish, and other small animals. Worse still, they’re typically small enough to be missed during most routine beach cleanups.
Plastic pollution is a growing problem for beaches across the world, but O’Connor said that nurdles are actually a pre-production material. Basically any single-use plastic item starts its life as a nurdle before being formed into a bottle, container, or other plastic product.
It isn’t clear where the nurdles are coming from on San Diego beaches, either. However, for people living in Encinitas, they’re likely to be found on the train tracks near the beach.
NBC 7 contacted a commercial railroad transportation company, BNSF, which said that it takes the plastic pollution “very seriously” and is currently investigating the prevalence of nurdles on San Diego beaches.
If you’d like to do your part to keep San Diego’s surf and beaches clean, you can pick up nurdles that you find. However, do keep in mind that you should keep your search restricted to the beach, since railroad tracks are both dangerous and often restricted.
Media credit: Image licensed from Adobe
Mike Peterson is a writer, editor, and strategist based in San Diego. When he’s not writing and editing the La Jolla news, you can often find him practicing yoga, rock climbing, or exploring the outdoors with his wife and dog.
