These ‘nurdles’ are tiny plastic beads that range from 2-3mm in size and are used as the building blocks for most plastic products used today. They are classified as microplastics and have seen a recent surge in exposure to the environment.
Geoffrey Abbott, a Reader in Organic Geochemistry at Newcastle University stated that, “They [the nurdles] also present a greater surface area per unit weight as compared to larger pieces of plastic waste so they can act more effectively as ‘molecular sponges’ mopping up potentially toxic compounds and bacteria in an aqueous environment.”
... making it the largest recorded nurdle spill in Northern Europe and the UK.
One billion of these pellets were released along the coast of South Shields with reports of pollution across North Tyneside, making it the largest recorded nurdle spill in Northern Europe and the UK. Nurdles have also been reported at Marsden Bay, home to one of England’s most important seabird colonies. Ingesting the pellets leads to starvation amongst wildlife as well as the accumulation of toxins in animals that moves up the food chain.
CEO of Tyne Rivers Trust, Sophia Stivall said, “As the environmental charity dedicated to the River Tyne and its tributaries, we want to use our expertise in river ecology, monitoring, citizen science and partnership working to help understand those impacts and support the river’s recovery.”
In the aftermath of the spillage, communities were quick to mobilise and offer to help, however were not given guidance by authorities on clean-up efforts due to delays in response to the spillage. The Great Nurdle Hunt is an initiative by Fidra, an environmental charity based in Scotland which aims to end chemical and plastic pollution. The initiative encompasses the collection of data through volunteer ‘nurdle hunters’ as well as facilitating community engagement and education.
We urgently need stronger UK regulation to prevent... spills like this in the future.
Rowan Stanforth, a project officer at Fidra noted, “Most pellet pollution can be prevented with simple measures like better packaging and safer stowage. We urgently need stronger UK regulation to prevent pollution on land and mandatory measures at sea to stop spills like this in the future.”
International policy such as the UN Global Plastics Treaty have been slow in transforming negotiations to significant real world change. However, recently approved regulation to prevent pellet losses by the EU Parliament marks a step towards promoting accountability amongst pellet carriers.
Scenes of volunteers hunting for pellets against the backdrop of Tynemouth beach should not be the norm on a Sunday afternoon. What remains certain is that the fight to push for a better legislature does not end with environmental organizations for as long as local support remains steadfast.