TRENTON - What started in Margate to contain plastic particles coming from building materials from getting into the water surrounding Absecon Island has caught the eye of the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and governor’s office and beyond.
Governor Phil Murphy last week led a coalition of seven states to sign a petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requesting nationwide monitoring of drinking water supplies for microplastics. Governors Matt Meyer of Delaware, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Wes Moore of Maryland, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, and Ned Lamont of Connecticut signed onto the petition.
Photos of microplastics pollution were taken Sunday, Dec. 17 before a major nor'easter washed it into the storm drains. The petition to Administrator Lee Zeldin requests that the EPA include microplastics in the 2027 renewal of the agency’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 6 (UCMR-6). Including a new contaminant in the UCMR – in this case, microplastics – is often the first important step in determining whether a drinking water standard is warranted.
“We deserve to better understand the potential for microplastics contamination in our drinking water,” NJ Gov. Phil Murphy said in a release.
New Jersey DEP collaborated with the Department of Law and Public Safety to lead the multi-state effort.
“Pollution from microplastics is widespread across the nation and the globe, and our understanding of potential public health consequences is rapidly expanding, especially for children,” NJ DEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette said. “The collection of monitoring data for microplastics from the nation’s drinking water supplies is a critical first step in developing strategies and standards that will better protect the health of all Americans.”
Sustainable Margate green team Chairman Steve Jasiecki said more can be done locally to eliminate some of the contamination.
The city’s Construction Contaminant Coalition has brought attention to modern construction materials such as Trex, which is made from reclaimed wood and plastic, and Azek, which is made from polyvinylchloride (PVC), and the dangers they pose to the environment and human health when dust particles blow in the wind or get into the stormwater system.
Sustainable Margate partnered with the Surfrider Foundation South Jersey, Beyond Plastics, Clean Ocean Action, Save Barnegat Bay, ANJEC, Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter, and Clean Water Action to Cut the Dust (cutthedust.org). Since starting the campaign in October 2023, the collaboration has encouraged numerous New Jersey towns to adopt microplastics containment ordinances that require contractors to take protective measures to prevent dust particles from entering the food chain.
“Microplastics are a well-known problem since the detection of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was discovered in 1997,” Jasiecki said. “We have noticed that a huge source of microplastic being generated is coming from construction sites. This is often overlooked when people talk about point and non-point pollution sources.”
The problem is…plastic is everywhere.
Modern, synthetic building materials such as polycarbonate trim, decking, fencing, siding, pipes and other plastic products are being cut and shaped using traditional tools. Unlike wood that makes sawdust, cutting these products create instant microplastics.
“Without collection devices, plastic dust enters the air and soil, and makes its way down storm drains where it gets into the water,” Jasiecki said.
Requiring contractors to cut these products in tents and use vacuums to contain the dust and prevent it from entering the environment is an effective way of limiting human exposure.
“So far 20 municipalities have adopted these ordinances,” Jasiecki said. “We are working to make this a statewide ordinance.”
The coalition of local organizations took their message to the NJ League of Municipalities Conference held in Atlantic City Nov. 18-20 to educate municipal leaders about the effort and the effects.
Margate resident Sherri Lilienfeld – aka Sustainable Sherri – attracted attention in her shiny green superhero outfit and cape. Representatives of each of the coalition partners tabled at the three-day event to share information about how to adopt construction containment ordinances. But the real goal is to make it a statewide law.
Particles not only enter the stormwater system where it proceeds to pollute the marine environment, the plastics enter the food chain – the fish eat the plastic thinking it’s plankton, and we eat the fish.
But the state has other concerns it is addressing.
Microplastics in the EnvironmentMicroplastics enter the environment through a variety of point and non-point sources. Point sources include direct discharges from industrial processes and wastewater treatment plants, where microplastics can enter aquatic systems due to the potential ineffectiveness of current filtration systems to remove these tiny particles.
The Atlantic County Utilities Authority is hosting PolyGone, a startup created by Princeton University graduates, to remove microplastics from treated wastewater at its treatment facility in Atlantic City. The student developed plant root biofilters that collect microplastic debris from treated wastewater as it passes through before entering the ocean. When the filter becomes saturated with microplastic debris, it is removed, and the microplastics are collected for upcycling.
Non-point sources include runoff from urban areas, agricultural lands and roadways, and can include transport of microplastic particles from the tire wear and synthetic fibers into water bodies.
Primary sources of microplastics are microbeads in cosmetics and plastic pellets used for making plastic products. Microplastics also enter the environment as the result of the wear and fragmentation of larger plastic items such as textiles and tires, during use or from environmental exposure.
Other sources include paints, plastic-coated fertilizers and mulch films used in agriculture, plastic film from food packaging, rubber from shoes, nylon thread from fishing nets and clothes made from synthetic fibers, polystyrene from food containers and packaging materials, and polypropylene from plastic bottles and food wrappers.
These microplastic particles are transported by water currents in ocean, rivers, lakes and streams, where they can be suspended in the water column, deposited in sediments or washed ashore. Additionally, atmospheric transport distributes microplastics widely. Microplastic fallout is known to impact even remote and pristine regions such as the Arctic and Mount Everest.
Health Effects of Microplastics
The potential risks microplastics pose to human health are currently the subject of extensive research. Physically, their size and shape can lead to cellular and tissue damage, while chemically, they may carry hazardous additives.
Various toxic chemicals can attach to these particles, presenting a significant risk to human and environmental health due to their presence in aquatic, terrestrial and atmospheric environment. For example, they can accumulate and transport harmful substances like bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, PFAS, PCBs, vinyl chloride, styrene, pesticides and heavy metals. Some of these toxicants are added during the manufacturing process, while others are absorbed as microplastics degrade.
From left, Margate Recycling Coordinator Anthony Edge, Sustainable Sherri and Sustainable Margate Chairman Steve Jasiecki.Copyright Fideri News Network 2025
