“Have you ever heard of nurdles?” I have posed this question countless times while tabling at events and giving talks across San Diego County.  “They are pre-production plastic pellets,” I explain while pouring a few out of a jar into the palm of my hand, adding, “Just about everything made out of plastic starts with nurdles. They are melted down and poured into molds to create plastic cutlery, beach toys, milk jugs…you name it!” I then reveal that I collected the nurdles on display from North County San Diego beaches, emphasizing that ”they easily escape during manufacturing and can also be lost when transported in trucks, shipping containers, and freight trains.” Despite sharing this information with people of all ages for years, it hadn’t occurred to me that the nurdles I find might originate from the rail corridor that transects the beach communities that I frequent in Northern San Diego.