Keep Charleston Beautiful

Now that the oil has been refined, it is time to manufacture plastic products.

Once naphtha and the other compounds used to form plastic are properly mixed into a resin, it goes through a process of applying heat, pressure, and then allowing it to cool off. Eventually, this will form small plastic balls, also known as nurdles. These nurdles can be various different types of plastic. The most commonly used plastics are: Acrylic or Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA), Polycarbonate (PC), Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE or PET), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS)

Once in this pellet form, they are shipped out to various manufacturing plants to be made into a specific item. For example, PMMAs and PCs are used to create plastic items that are made to last for more than one use. PMMAs are stronger plastics that can be used for mirrors and plexiglass. PCs are another harder plastic that is used when manufacturing items such as greenhouses, safety goggles, phones, and surgical tools.

On the other end, single-use plastics are produced by using plastics such as Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE), PP, PETE, and PET. These are used for items such as water bottles, food containers, grocery bags, medical equipment, cleaning products, and other disposal goods.

Plastic manufacturing plants can have various environmental impacts. Every year, around 359 million tons of plastic are produced. About 20% of greenhouse gas emissions released by this industry comes from the manufacturing of single-use plastics. In addition, nurdles can easily be released into ecosystems. If they are spilled or improperly packaged in transportation, their light weight and small size allows them to be easily moved by wind and water. Once in waterways, their small size makes it easy for marine life to consume them by accident. Nurdle hunts a great way to help local environments by cleaning containments that can harm wildlife. Places where you can remove nurdles include beaches, marshes, riverbanks, and other shorelines.

What an incredible spring! Earlier this year, we launched the Greatest Charleston Cleanup - a citywide initiative in support of Keep America Beautiful’s Greatest American Cleanup, a nationwide effort to create cleaner, greener, more beautiful communities in time for America’s 250th birthday on July 4, 2026.

Over the course of 14 weeks, community leaders, City Councilmembers, neighborhood groups, organizations, businesses, partners, and hundreds of volunteers came together to make a lasting impact across our City. Together, we showed what’s possible when a community comes together to care for the place we all come home. Thank you to EVERYONE who participated and supported these efforts!

📍 24 locations
🛣 26 miles of roadway and trails
🛞 12 tires from our communities
🗑️ 685 bags of trash and litter
🙋 660 community volunteers
🤝 43 local partners
➡SWIPE through the images below to see each location and our FINAL ⚖ & 💵 impact!

While this spring series has come to a close, caring for Charleston doesn’t end here. As we celebrate our country’s this weekend, please celebrate responsibly and dispose of your trash properly. Even if you didn’t drop it, every piece of litter picked up and every act of stewardship helps keep Charleston beautiful for the next semiquincentennial of America!