Microplastics Archives

September 8, 2026

As droughts intensify and groundwater warms, contaminants can move into underground aquifers – threatening drinking water and agriculture. By Sanket...

INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS: Can California farmers break free from plastic?

Inside Climate News

Agriculture

August 28, 2026

Microplastics in waterways and soil are fueling calls to reduce the pervasiveness of plastic in agriculture. By Liza Gross, Inside...

SFEI: San Francisco rain gardens filter microplastic tire particles and dozens of chemicals from stormwater

San Francisco Estuary Institute

Water quality

July 10, 2026

From the San Francisco Estuary Institute: San Francisco’s rain gardens—the unassuming patches of greenery and mulch designed to soak up...

SFEI: SF Bay Regional Monitoring Program: 20 Years of investigating underregulated chemicals

San Francisco Estuary Institute

Water quality

July 10, 2026

From the San Francisco Estuary Institute: The San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) lobby displays a high case with two dozen...

DEPT. OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL: California finalizes regulation adding microplastics to candidate chemicals list

Department of Toxic Substances Control

Water quality

July 4, 2026

Press release from the Department of Toxic Substances Control: DTSC’s Safer Consumer Products Program adopted a regulation adding microplastics to...

EOS: Tracking microplastics above and below the waves

American Geophysical Union

Ecosystems

March 25, 2026

Measuring plastic particles carried on Cozumel’s sea breezes and ocean currents reveals how simple physics shapes the particles’ pathways and...

PRESS RELEASE: San Diego Coastkeeper & CERF reach resolution with BNSF Railway over transportation of plastic pellets

San Diego Coastkeeper

Water quality

February 6, 2026

BNSF Railway, Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation, San Diego Coastkeeper, and North County Transit District resolve claims related to transportation of...

UC SAN DIEGO: Plastic pollution promotes hazardous water conditions, new study finds

Guest Contributor

Water quality

January 31, 2026

Tests in aquatic ecosystem ponds revealed that bio-based plastics have a substantially smaller environmental footprint By Mario Aguilera, UC San...

SFEI: The Storm Chasers: How stormwater reveals more than ever about pollution in San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Estuary Institute

Water quality

January 15, 2026

Highlights Stormwater runoff is the rainwater that washes off landscapes, including cities, and flows towards water bodies. It’s a major...

EOS: Microplastics have widely varying effects on soil

American Geophysical Union

Water quality

October 29, 2025

A new study finds that a microplastic concentration of just 0.4% alters the drainage of soil, which could affect the...

COURTHOUSE NEWS: Microplastics invade the gut and change its chemistry

Courthouse News Service

Water quality

October 7, 2025

A new study shows microplastics in the gut could be linked to an array of health issues such as depression...

PRESS RELEASE: First in the nation ban on plastic microbeads in personal products headed to Governor Newsom’s desk

Legislator/Elected Official

Policy and regulation

September 4, 2025

Press release from Assemblymember Tasha Boerner: Today, Assembly Bill (AB) 823 by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner (D-Encinitas) passed the Senate Floor...