Reasons To Be Cheerful: The Landmark Settlement That Could Get Plastic Pellet Pollution Out of America’s Rivers

Three Rivers Waterkeeper, a Pennsylvania nonprofit, went about testing the Ohio River four years ago and found hundreds of nurdles in each sample they pulled with their handheld trawls, a device about the size of a large shoebox. They followed the pellets upstream, until they eventually reached the source. An industrial stormwater pipe was transporting pellets from a Styropek plastics facility and releasing them directly into the creek. In 2023, they sued the company for its contamination and won earlier this month (Sept, 2025),requiring Styropek to pay $2.6 million to remediate its plastic pollution, and to fund clean water projects across the state. But what makes the settlement effective, according to the plaintiffs, is not this initial penalty. It’s a requirement that Styropek must install technology to detect the release of any more plastic pellets from its facility in Monaca, Pennsylvania. If the technology finds even a single nurdle in the facility’s stormwater outfalls, the company will have to pay up. Read ON.