Showing posts with label microplastic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label microplastic. Show all posts

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Make a BIG Splash for a Small Problem!

Help Fund COA’s Microplastic Study



Only two weeks left to help COA receive a grant from the Ocean First Foundation! COA is currently participating in a “Charity Challenge” on Crowdrise with over 60 other organization who are competing for a $15,000 grant. Show your support for our organization by making a donation of any size. Every penny raised on our page will be directed toward COA’s independent research study on microplastics.

As you may know, our staff has been working with NOAA and undergoing the largest independent study on microplastics. So far, we have documented their presence from samples of our coastal waterways and beaches. This study is not currently funded by any grant and needs your support to continue our research and analysis of the samples. Please make a contribution on our Crowdrise page, also found on our website homepage, or call the office for more information.

What can you do about microplastics?

There are two sources of microplastics: 
1) The breakdown of larger pieces and
2) manufactured products.

By reducing the amount of plastic you use you reduce the amount of plastic in the environment, which if not recycled can end-up in the environment and break down into microplastics. 

Be a conscious consumer by purchasing tooth paste and facial or body scrub that is free of microbeads. These beads do not get filtered through wastewater systems and aend-up in our waterways.

Monday, February 2, 2015

Plastic Beads, Fragments, and Fibers! Oh My!


Clean Ocean Action’s Microplastic Research Project

Clean Ocean Action is hard at work investigating microplastics in beach sand and coastal waters! In the summer of 2014, Cassandra Ornell, Staff Scientist, and Catie Tobin, Marine Science Education Coordinator, teamed up with scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) along with students from the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST).

Over the past few months, the team has been hard at work testing various methods that would provide the best data. After time spent with the different systems in the lab, the project has finally moved into the identification stage in which the team is viewing their samples under the microscope. As of last week, the first microbead was seen, confirming the hypothesis that microplastics are present in the New Jersey coastal area.

In the months ahead, the team will continue the identification phase with the hopes of releasing the data in tandem with the year of celebration for the 30th Beach Sweep Anniversary.  Stay tuned for updates!

Read more about the study here