Volunteer microplastic sampling in Puget Sound: strategies for broad inclusion, education, and research

The global plastic crisis contributes 8 million metric tons of plastic to the world’s oceans each year, equivalent to dumping one garbage truck every minute. This plastic does not break down. Instead, it breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces. Today, “microplastics” (plastic pieces smaller than 5 mm in size) can be found nearly everywhere on earth. Microplastics enter waterbodies from other sources as well. “Microbeads,” commonly used as an exfoliant, are found in facial scrubs, hand soap and toothpaste. “Microfibers” shed from fleece and other synthetic materials when washed. Wastewater treatment plants do not have the capacity to trap most microbeads and microfibers, so many are discharged into waterways. Once in the water column, microplastics act like chemical sponges that may bind toxic compounds including DDTs, PCBs, pesticides, and pathogens. When ingested, these contaminants have the potential to enter the food web, including seafood destined for human consumption. To better understand local microplastic distribution, volunteers recruited through Puget Soundkeeper collected 43 water samples from throughout the Puget Sound basin during the fall of 2017. These water samples will be analyzed through a partnership between Puget Soundkeeper, University of Puget Sound and Unleash the Brilliance. Nearly all samples are expected to contain plastic, primarily in the form of microfibers. The results will inform future monitoring stations and the project provides a successful example of an accessible citizen science program that achieves educational and research goals as well as broad inclusion. Lessons learned include strategies for streamlining data collection, distributing sampling equipment across a large geographic area, and preserving data integrity.