Today, standing along the shores of Narragansett Bay, U.S. Senator Jack Reed joined with officials from Save The Bay, the University of Rhode Island, and Roger Williams University (RWU) to discuss the threat of microplastics and outline steps households, communities, and elected officials can take to better protect people from the threat of microplastic pollution and preserve access to clean, safe water. Reed joined experts in urging stepped-up research, regulation, and coordinated action around microplastics.
Senator Reed, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, secured $1.69 million in federal funding to help RWU researchers study human-derived pollutants in the air, soil, and water and $1 million to help URI track the flow of plastic particles through the environment and develop new solutions to stop plastic waste and pollution.
According to URI researchers, the top two inches of Narragansett Bay’s floor contains more than 1,000 tons of microplastics and that buildup has occurred in just the last 10 to 20 years. And on a global scale, the World Bank estimates that every person on the planet generates an average of 1.6 pounds of plastic waste daily.
