Museum of Ice Cream plastic sprinkles are littering SF streets

Plastic sprinkles can be seen on the sidewalks around the Museum of Ice Cream's San Francisco location. Environmentalists worry about the impact of the plastic washing into storm drains. Plastic sprinkles can be seen on the sidewalks around the Museum of Ice Cream's San Francisco location. Environmentalists worry about the impact of the plastic washing into storm drains. Photo: Alix Martichoux / SFGATE Photo: Alix Martichoux / SFGATE Image 1 of / 19 Caption Close Museum of Ice Cream plastic sprinkles are littering SF streets 1 / 19 Back to Gallery

There are two telltale signs the Museum of Ice Cream has been a big hit in San Francisco: friends' colorful selfies clogging up your social media feeds and colorful plastic sprinkles littering the city's sidewalks.

The tiny pieces of plastic come from the pop-up exhibit's giant sprinkle pool. A picture lying among the estimated 100 million sprinkles is a must for anyone who paid for the $38 ticket to the museum (they sold out in just 18 minutes).

But many of those sprinkles are making their way out of the ice cream museum and onto city streets.

"A week later and I'm still finding sprinkles all over my home and in random clothes," James Banares wrote on Instagram.

A week later and I’m still finding sprinkles all over my home and in random clothes. And it still makes me happy. #sanfrancisco sanfrancisco #sf #museumoficecream #icecream #sprinkles A post shared by James Banares (@iridiumice) on Oct 3, 2017 at 8:28pm PDT

San Francisco resident Johanna Sanders contacted SFGATE to say she has seen the colorful bits all over the city—around the Financial District, Chinatown and even along the Embarcadero--a full mile away from the Museum of Ice Cream.

A quick walk around the pop-up exhibit's location near Grant Avenue and O'Farrell Street confirmed Sanders' account. A trail of sprinkles could be easily seen on the sidewalks and in gutters for several blocks.

For sanitary reasons, the museum doesn't use real, edible sprinkles. They're made with plastic at a factory in Los Angeles and coated in "antimicrobial germ bloc," according to a spokesperson for the Museum of Ice Cream.

"My concern is that they go down the drains and into the bay, where they will be bite-sized for most fish," said Sanders.

A spokesperson for the temporary exhibit says the Museum of Ice Cream works "closely with an environmental specialist." Shelley Reinstein added the San Francisco location has an "air shower" to help visitors blow off some of the small pieces.

"Before leaving the Museum of Ice Cream, our team members are told to double check guests to make sure everyone has shaken off excess sprinkles," Reinstein said. "Guests have been putting sprinkles in their pocket as a memento of their experience in the sprinkle pool."

Potential environmental impact

Regardless of how they're getting outside, some are worried about the chain reaction impact the small plastic pieces, and other micro-plastic pollution, could have on the environment.

"If it's on the sidewalk it most likely goes into storm drains and then into the ocean," said Eva Holman with the Surfrider Foundation's San Francisco Chapter, an environmental organization focused on beach and ocean cleanup.

The sprinkles may not be caught by the city's water filtration system because they're too small.

Once in the ocean, the sprinkles may be consumed by fish and other sea life because their bright colors make them look like attractive pieces of food. Holman thinks birds in San Francisco may also be snapping them up, which can cause deadly digestive issues if they eat too many pieces.

"My 5-year-old would think it's candy. Why wouldn't a bird on the street think it's something to consume?" Holman said.

Some fish may even be seeking out plastic morsels as food, according to a British study on anchovies published in August, because the debris pick up a biological coating of material and the correlated smell.

"To our knowledge, this is the first experimental evidence that adult anchovy use odours to forage," the authors concluded. "These findings provide further support for a chemosensory mechanism underlying plastic consumption by marine wildlife." They add that, "[T]hese findings have considerable implications for aquatic food webs and possibly human health.

When fish consume micro-plastics, the trash can make its way up the food chain and onto our dinner plates. A UC Davis study in 2015 found a quarter of fish sold at California markets had human-made debris (mostly fiber from clothing) in their guts.

The San Francisco Department of Public Works said they are investigating the litter around the Museum of Ice Cream and will work with the exhibit's owners to reduce trash, if deemed necessary.

"Most plastic has a purpose, like bottle caps and food wrappers," Holman said. "What is the purpose of this tiny piece of plastic other than a selfie moment?"

Read Alix Martichoux's latest stories and send her news tips at amartichoux@sfchronicle.com.