On January 27th, a semitrailer carrying polystyrene plastic pellets, known as nurdles, left the roadway and crashed near the south end of the I-196 bridge over the Kalamazoo River near Saugatuck in Allegan County. Those pellets spilled out of the semitrailer, with some entering the river and adjacent wetlands.
Nurdles, used in manufacturing, are considered microplastics - tiny plastic pieces the state classifies as contaminants of an emerging concern – and are typically the size of a grain of rice or a pencil eraser.
The recent winter thaw is allowing for several-thousand-pounds of the small white pellets to be collected. The nurdles spread during the semitrailer’s removal and subsequent snowplowing along a four-mile stretch of freeway shoulder.
The Michigan Department of Transportation is being assisted by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Microplastics are not considered toxic or hazardous material, but because they do not break down naturally, can build up over time and harm wildlife mistaking it for food.
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