The environmental advocacy group As You Sow is challenging large petrochemical companies to show shareholders how they are handling “nurdles”—small plastic pellets that pollute the oceans.
The group has filed resolutions with Chevron, DowDuPont, ExxonMobil and Phillips 66 that, if approved by shareholders, would require the companies to report on the spills of the polluting pellets and the efforts that are being made to prevent and clean up spills.
The pellets, a byproduct of the production of large-scale plastics, are the second largest microplastic pollution source by weight in the oceans, As You Sow said. Attempts to negotiate with the chemical companies, which own large petrochemical operations that produce plastics, have not been successful, the organization said.
“Most plastic products originate from plastic pellets, also known as preproduction pellets, or nurdles. Billions of plastic pellets are swept into waterways annually, adding to harmful levels of plastic pollution in the environment,” As You Sow said. “The chemical operations divisions of the four companies are members of Operation Clean Sweep, an industry initiative with a stated goal of reducing pellet spills through adoption of best practices to prevent spills, but this initiative has provided no public reporting in more than 25 years of existence.”
“The industry’s effort to deal with pellet spills provides no transparency on the scope and nature of spills or efforts made to clean up,” said Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president of As You Sow. “Given what we know about the alarming rates of plastic leakage into oceans, companies can no longer hide behind vague pledges of best practices. They need to provide prompt and detailed disclosure about specific actions taken to prevent spills, and when spills occur, information on spill size, and actions taken to clean up.”