More nurdles have been found on beaches than ever before as environmental groups call for legislation to class them as marine pollutants so they’re subject to stricter laws during handling and transportation.
Nurdles are tiny pellets of plastic used by industry to produce nearly all of our plastic products but factory and cargo spillages mean many escape into the environment and end up in the sea.
They can have devastating consequences for wildlife and can soak up chemical pollutants before releasing toxins into the creatures that eat them.
This year’s Great Global Nurdle Hunt, held by environmental charity FIDRA, found a record number of nurdles on beaches around the world.
Hunts took place in 317 sites across 23 countries and they were found in 90% of locations. The only country where no nurdles were found was Indonesia.
Limekilns, a village about 17 miles from Edinburgh, is one of the worst affected areas in the UK – and it doesn’t take long to find nurdles on the beach.
Joanna McFarlane, chair of CLP Nature Conservation Group, told Sky News: “What we’re dealing with is historical nurdle loss and I would say that lots of nurdles have been here decades and they’re washing up, maybe being dragged up from the bottom of the Firth of Forth and being deposited, or they’re just sitting in the bank.
“Sometimes you can pull away the sand bank and nurdles are just making up half of the sand bank.
“The question is who is responsible for those nurdles and why has no one been made accountable for those nurdles that are polluting our beaches and our communities right now”
“We want to ask why is no one accountable for this pollution on our beach we’re living with everyday. Children are playing among it, wildlife is ingesting it, is anyone going to take responsibility?”
The impact nurdles have on the environment is devastating and spillages can see billions released into the ocean.
Following a fire on a ship off the coast of Sri Lanka in 2021, it’s believed between 50 to 75 billion nurdles ended up in the sea – thought to be the world’s worst spillage.
Megan Kirton says nurdles are almost impossible to clean up so preventative action is vital
Megan Kirton, project officer at FIDRA, told Sky News: “As well as just looking not very nice on a beach and smothering beaches in plastic, unfortunately a lot of nurdles are mistaken for food by a lot of marine animals.
“Animals such as seabirds, fish, dolphins and baby turtles have all been found to consume nurdles because they’re easily mistaken for food.”
She said animals feel full when they’ve eaten nurdles and therefore don’t take on proper food.
Ms Kirton added: “Once nurdles are in the environment, they’re almost impossible to clean up so we need to work on preventative action to stop them from getting there in the first place.”
FIDRA is working with Fauna and Flora International to urge the International Maritime Organisation to implement legislation to formally class nurdles as marine pollutants.
This would change the way they are handled and transported.
Tanya Cox wants nurdles to be classified as marine pollutants so they are packaged more stringently
Tanya Cox, senior technical specialist at Fauna and Flora International, told Sky News they need to be recognised as pollutants due to their “pervasive polluting nature”.
“At the moment pellets are not classified in any way for movement by sea,” said Ms Cox.
“We need to see nurdles classified formally as marine pollutants so that they are packaged more stringently, they’re labelled more clearly and the presence of pellets on ships is communicated to the operators so they can be stowed below deck in more safe and appropriate manner.
“If we don’t see it happening, I think it’s really a case of saying time is running out.”
