State Water Resources
Control Board Project

Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF) has been granted $482,183 by the California State Water Resources Control Board to conduct a pilot project, researching industrial sites and non-point sources responsible for adding plastic debris to the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers’ watersheds. The project began in November 2003 and will conclude in March 2006. AMRF will research and identify the source of the pollution, gather and analyze samples, monitor the industrial sites, and quantify non-point sources. At the end of the project, AMRF will produce educational materials, including a Video and a CD Rom documenting the study, along with written reports, all of which will make it possible for others to reproduce the project in other areas. Also as part of the agreement, AMRF will produce a state-wide conference in 2005 to present the report and discuss the results of the study and the Action Plan developed by the Advisory Board which will identify actions that can be taken and lead implementers at the local and state level to reduce the discharges of plastic debris into inland and coastal waterways.

Captain Charles Moore and AMRF have been involved, along with the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP), in a quantitative and qualitative research on the release of plastics into the near-shore and coastal zone along the mouths of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers, as well as researching the effects of plastics on marine ecology and migration of plastic pollution from inland water to the Central Pacific.

The production and consumption of plastics and the use of throw-away products in our every- day life has increased drastically, generating exponential amounts of urban trash. The trash problem has been addressed by regulators through the “Zero Trash Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs),” which defines trash as “litter and particles of litter that are retained by a 5- mm mesh screen.” The problem comes from the fact that pre-production plastic resin beads, known as “nurdles,” which are the most common contaminant of our beaches (based on research published by SCCWRP), are less than 5 mm. These pellets have never been formed into products. Post consumer plastic fragments less than 5mm in size are also found on our beaches.

AMRF’s funded research targets the collection of baseline data to assess the total load of plastic debris less than 5mm in diameter, collection of baseline data on the number of nurdles released from injection molders, transporters and/or re-packagers, and collection of data on the pollutant load of nurdles and particles along the rivers.

Industry monitoring sites were selected as follows: one large plastic bag manufacturer on each Los Angles and San Gabriel rivers, one large durable goods molder on each river, one plastic pellet transporter/re-packager per river, one small plastic injection molder on each river, and one plastic facility immediately adjacent to each river, hoping that the facility has a unique delivery conduit to the channel, which would eliminate other input. In addition, mass emission sites were sited at the following three locations: Los Angeles River above the tidal prism near Wardlow/405 Freeway, San Gabriel River above Coyote Creek junction and above debris net, and Coyote Creek above debris boom. Estuary and beach sites include: LA River estuary near Queen Mary, Golden Shore Marine Reserve, Long Beach strandline at Alamitos Avenue near Shoreline Marina, San Gabriel River estuary, and Seal Beach strandline at 1st Street.

Dry season sampling will be conducted after at least two weeks without rain of 0.25 inches or greater in the area. Wet weather sampling will follow a rain event of 0.25 inches or greater, based on an average of the closest three rain gauges to the sample area.

Following sample collection during the first year of the project, plastic pellet Best Management Practices (BMPs) and other strategies during the dry season of 2004 will be implemented at the participating industries.

Subsequently, a follow up monitoring sampling will be performed following the dry and wet season protocols of the first year sampling. Results will be analyzed and an Action Plan will be developed; both will be presented at a conference in early summer 2005.

Through our education component, the methods and results of our study will be made available to interested groups investigating watersheds in other parts of the country and world. Our team will continue to provide leadership in the collection and analysis of data useful for understanding and combating the unexpected negative effects of human inability to control a poorly scrutinized yet significant component of our urban and industrial wastes. We strongly believe that plastic pollution should be considered in its own right in the future and it will be routinely monitored as other pollutants are.

Posted: 3/12/04