Report identifies plastics contamination in Pennsylvania waterways
A report released Wednesday by the PennEnvironmental Research & Policy Center identified the findings of microplastic contamination in Pennsylvania’s 53 waterways, including the Lehigh River.
Microplastics are pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters in diameter, which is smaller than a grain of rice.
The Lehigh testing was done in Lehigh County and not in Carbon County, according to the report.
The report, titled “microplastics in Pennsylvania: a Survey of Waterways,” indicates testing was done on rivers, lakes and streams throughout the commonwealth.
According to Faran Savits, a conservation associate with PennEnvironmental, “The results of this study should set off alarms for all Pennsylvanians who love our state’s rivers and streams. The staggering amount of microplastics we found likely means that no river, lake or stream is safe from this increasingly common contaminant.”
During the study, the center’s staff collected water samples as part of the citizen-science project to identify plastic pollution in their local waterways.
PennEnvironmental said Americans generate more than 35 million tons of plastic waste every year, 10 percent of which is recycled. Officials said the rest ends up as litter or gets sent to landfills or incinerators where it will release microplastics over time that can get carried by wind or rain into the environment.
Microfibers, a type of plastic found in every waterway, come from textiles and are shed through normal wear and tear or routine machine washing, where they are then carried to waterways. PennEnvironmental said it is almost impossible for water treatment plants to filter these pollutants out.
In addition to identifying the levels of contamination, the report outlines a broad range of policy solutions to tackle the problem, including recommendations to pass federal bills as the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which includes single-use plastic bans and producer responsibility provisions, and updating stormwater infrastructure to better capture rain and runoff laced with microplastics.