The Engulfing Pollution in the Gulf of Mexico
It’s no secret that plastic pollution is affecting the Gulf of Mexico, but how bad is it really? The Gulf is known and loved for its beauty and diverse sea life, but it is not immune to the plastic debris that has been scattered throughout it. This should be concerning for Austin residents, as the Colorado River that creates Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake eventually feeds into the Gulf of Mexico. 
How Bad is it?
Well, it’s not great, and plastics are to blame. According to Earth.com, between February 2015 and August 2017, scientists gathered trash off the Gulf of Mexico, and sorted it, separating by type, frequency, and where it was collected.
One shocking thing they discovered was the makeup of the trash. They found that up to 95 percent of the trash collected was plastic. These plastics included things like water bottles, bottle caps, straws, spoons, and forks. Another unsettling thing they found was that ocean trash washes up on the shore of Texas at more than 10 times the rate as at other Gulf State locations. I guess everything IS bigger in Texas.
Nurdles
I know it’s hard to take something called a ‘nurdle’ seriously but trust me, it’s a big deal. Nurdles are the raw material for plastic manufacturing, or essentially just plastic pellets, and they have become one of the largest concerns when it comes to pollution along the Gulf. As mentioned before, a shocking amount of this pollution, or nurdles, are found along the Texas coast.
As of September 2021, a total of 1,614,956 nurdles have been counted and removed from the Gulf, thanks largely to the members of Nurdle Patrol. While this patrolling has been effective, cleanup efforts from nurdle spills are very expensive and time-consuming, so expansion of the Nurdle Patrol network will help solve this problem. The ultimate goal of the project is to provide data to inform legislation on plastic pollution.
While the vast majority of the patrol’s data has been collected from the shores of the United States, recent funding support from the NOAA Marine Debris Program will allow for expansion of Nurdle Patrol into Mexico. This expansion will help identify the sources of this poisonous plastic pellet pollution. How’s that for alliteration?
You Can Help
The people of Austin can help to chip away at this problem of pollution. By using sustainable, non-plastic goods and participating in beach cleanups, pollution can be reduced in Austin’s bodies of water. Click here to see our article on Texas beach cleanups.
Fixing the pollution problem in Austin does not only help the beaches and lakes here, but can lead to less pollution in the Gulf of Mexico as well. According to Environment Texas, the majority of plastics and microplastics that end up in the ocean are accumulated from all over the United States, not just from the locations near the oceans. If a plastic ends up in a local stream, it can end up in a river, and then lead into the ocean, therefore disrupting many ecosystems leading up to and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Edited by Isa
