A survey recently found evidence of plastic pollution in a lake north of Greensboro.
Volunteers combed waterways across the state looking for tiny plastic pellets, known as nurdles, as part of the second-annual International Plastic Pellet Count. They surveyed six sites and found nurdles at just one: a section of Lake Brandt in Summerfield.
Nurdles are the raw material used to make nearly all plastic products. Emily Mason with Environment North Carolina says they can spill during manufacturing or transport, then wash into bodies of water like Lake Brandt.
“A lot of the time our aquatic mammals can mistake them for food, and they also hold different chemicals in them," she says. "So it's an issue for our wildlife, and also can travel up the food chain to impact us as well.”
Mason says the pellets are more commonly found in areas close to manufacturing sites. In North Carolina, that includes Charlotte, Greensboro, Fayetteville and Wilmington.
During this year’s count, volunteers around the world reported nurdles at more than half of the 249 sites they surveyed. Mason says their data helps researchers better understand the scope of the pollution and work toward solutions.