The Benthic Ecology Laboratory at the University of North Texas is currently conducting a large-scale study to determine how urbanization and watershed characteristics affect the population and diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates from six urban ponds in Denton, TX. My portion of this project will be to determine if there are microplastics present in these urban ponds. Microplastics have become a major issue of concern over the last decade and the majority of the research that has been done on microplastics focuses on marine ecosystems. Researchers state that only 4% of all microplastic studies pertain to contamination in freshwater ecosystems. My goal will be to refine and implement the new practices for extracting microplastics in freshwater ecosystems. I will construct a device that is based on the principle of elutriation to extract microplastics from the sediment and water column. Once I have confirmed that there are microplastics within these watersheds, I will begin working on determining if they have any negative impacts to the benthic macroinvertebrates present in these urban ponds. I will be working on this project with the help of my mentor, Dr. James Kennedy with the plan to submit for publication by fall 2020.