Earlier this year, the Ikkatsu Project and the Foss Waterway Seaport collaborated on a freshwater microplastics sampling program in various parts of the Puyallup watershed. We worked with middle school students from five different districts in the watershed as well as a Tacoma private school, doing in-class presentations and field study sessions in multiple locations. Students learned sediment collection and evaluation techniques and collected water samples that were examined for microplastics by students at the University of Puget Sound, coordinated by Dr. Peter Hodum.

The results are sobering. Without giving too much away…