Unfortunately, microplastic pollution is now a harmful reality for our shorelines, coastal ecosystems, and oceans. Microplastics are created as larger plastic materials eventually degrade into smaller pieces, and can wreak havoc on both human and marine ecosystem health. Microplastics are now found in drinking water, common foods, and in the tissue of many marine species.

To help combat this alarming problem, last January our staff at Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund and the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center on Maui were excited to host Dr. Sean Anderson to “train our trainers”. He shared a newly developed (non-toxic) microplastic curriculum, which guided our educators through the process of extracting (sample) microplastic pollution from a seawater sample. Microplastic particles could then be viewed under a microscope for identification. Dr. Anderson is a professor at the Environmental Science and Resource Management program at California State University Channel Islands and has been researching microplastic pollution for more than 14 years. We were so fortunate to have “Dr. A” join us and share his expertise, and we are looking forward to sharing these engaging, hands-on activities with our community.

Check out excerpts from “Dr. A’s” demonstrations with our HWF educators:

What you do to help prevent microplastic pollution? It’s easy:

  • Help reduce the creation of new plastic by using as little as possible and avoiding single use items.
  • Participate in a beach clean-up to help remove plastic from our shorelines and ensure proper disposal of debris.
  • Join us for an educational program at the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center!

We hope to see you soon, and MAHALO NUI LOA to Dr. Anderson for sharing his day with our team!

If you’d like to take a deeper dive into processing water samples for microplastic pollution, you can explore a more technical protocol here:

If you’d like to learn more about the history of microplastic pollution and some of the political strategies California is implementing to combat and mitigate microplastics, check this out: