The Friends have long hated the plastics that litter Little Hunting Creek. Over the years, we have picked up thousands of bags of plastic bottles at sites such as the Janna Lee Avenue bridge, shown above in 2012.
But the harms of plastic may be worse than we knew. A September 2025 Washington Post article reviews evidence that plastics containing pthalates pose a serious health hazard, especially to pregnant women and their children. Male children in particular seem to be affected, and some researchers believe pthalates are contributing to a worldwide decline in male fertility.
Read the article here.
