The 2026 International Plastic Pellet Count shows that tiny plastic beads are polluting waterways around the world.
More than 1 million so-called “nurdles” have been identified, including more than 15,000 across California, according to a report released Tuesday.
“We’re doing the tally as a way to show that this is a real problem,” Jen Engstrom said. “Because it’s transparent, it easily blends into the sand along the beach, so you often don’t even know it’s there.”
Mr. Engstrom directs the CALPIRG Education Fund, which participated in the count.
In May, more than 1,000 volunteers combed sites around railways, beaches and other waterways in six countries to count and remove pollutants, he said.
“These are small bead-like pieces of plastic that are the raw material for plastic products,” she said. “So these are made, shipped across the country, melted down and formed into plastic bottles, bags, and countless other plastic products.”
The study found a 22% increase in nurdles since the first count in 2025.
“They are often treated with chemicals or can absorb chemicals that can end up in our fish because they are consumed by marine animals,” Engström said. “And it may eventually find its way into our own bodies through microplastic contamination in drinking water.”
Provided by Stephen Gaskin
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San Diego Coastal Manager
A person holding a nurdle was discovered on May 2, 2026, next to railroad tracks near Lucadia Boulevard and Coast Highway.
Engstrom said nurdle contamination tends to accumulate near sites where pellets are manufactured, used and transported, including spills during rail transport.
Patrick McDonough, a senior staff attorney with San Diego Coastkeeper, participated in the count in Carlsbad, near the railroad tracks.
“Along the railroad lines, especially in North County (San Diego), there’s a lot of protected lagoon habitat, and those railroad lines cut directly over those lagoons. We’ve noticed that everywhere you look, there are nurdles,” McDonough said.
He said most nurdles float, so they end up on the banks of waterways, but they can be hard to spot because they’re about the size of a lentil.
“These things can potentially remain in water or oceans for hundreds or even thousands of years and end up stranded all over the world,” he said.
In February, McDonough said his organization, the North County Transportation District and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation, reached a settlement with BNSF Railway over the release of plastic pellets during transportation. As a result, new national protocols have been established that require both loaded and unloaded rail cars transporting pellets to be properly sealed.
He said his organization is planning another independent count this July.
