Murrells Inlet
Initiative will collect data along with litter
It’s in the pluff mud. In the ocean. In the stomachs of sea turtles and aligators. In the bodies of humans.
Plastic is everywhere.
A three year project underway in Murrells Inlet wants to identify exactly where the plastic is and where it came from. The goal is to reduce the amount that ends up in the environment.
“No solutions will come from litter pickups alone,” said Kelly Thorvalson, senior manager of conservation at the S.C. Aquarium. “Data drives solutions.”
She is leading Our Marsh Counts, an initiative started by Sandra Bundy, an inlet native, and funded by a three year grant from NOAA.
Bundy started working with the S.C. Aquarium to collect data on litter in 2022 through the aquarium’s citizen science program.
Over the six cleanups since then, 33,717 items have been recorded in the Murrells Inlet area. Plastic accounts for 76 percent of those items, said Linda Rowe, conservation programs coordinator at the aquarium at a Creek Talk in Murrells Inlet.
The aquarium started its initiative after finding an increasing amount of plastic in the sea turtles brought to it for rehabilitation. It has recorded over 3.6 million items along the coast and along inland waters.
With the data, “you can start looking for hot spots,” Rowe said.
For instance, data from Charleston County showed a high level of plastic debris left behind following traffic accidents. Emergency responders increased their cleanup efforts, Thorvalson said.
Cigarette butts, which contain plastic filters, account for 43 percent of the plastic waste recorded. When data shows that waste is showing up around places where smoking is prohibited, Thorvalson said that can lead to policy changes – or ash trays.
“I rely on this data,” said Pam Martin, a professor at Coastal Carolina University who leads its center for sustainable development. The university is a partner in Our Marsh Counts.
Research that Martin conducted for Sustain SC, a nonprofit that partners with major industries such as Boeing and BMW, found that plastic makes up 74 percent of litter around the state.
“Litter knows no boundaries,” Martin said, which is why even large companies are pushing for a “circular economy” that accounts for waste.
Researchers comparing Murrells Inlet with the undeveloped North Inlet estuary found similar levels of microplastics in both, said Stefanie Whitmire, an assistant professor at Clemson University’s Baruch Institute.
“What we found was rubber,” she said. “It’s probably from tires.”
They plan to start a study this summer of microplastics in the sediment of stormwater ponds.
Our Marsh Counts will use its data to create an “Inlet Friendly” resource guide and plans to promote that with business partners to reduce plastic waste, Thorvalson said.
