Billion plastic pellets spilled into UK river after two ships collide

Local residents said nurdles covered the whole stretch of South Shields beach. Photograph: Peter Atkinson/Alamy View image in fullscreen Local residents said nurdles covered the whole stretch of South Shields beach. Photograph: Peter Atkinson/Alamy Billion plastic pellets spilled into UK river after two ships collide Up to 25 tonnes of nurdles, the raw material for plastic manufacturing, have spread further than initially feared Approximately a billion tiny plastic nurdles have entered the River Tyne after a “devastating spill”, with the pellets thought to have spread much further than first thought. Nurdles are tiny pellets, usually about 1-5mm in size, that act as the raw material to manufacture most plastic products. On Sunday, the Wind Orca ship collided with the berthed container ship BG Orange at the Port of Tyne, causing damage to a dockside crane and injuring one person. The collision caused up to 25 tonnes of nurdles – about a billion in total, according to environmental charity Fidra – to enter the water, said South Tyneside Council. After nurdles were found washed up on South Shields beach, the council warned residents to avoid handling the pellets and to keep dogs on leads. The pellets themselves are not toxic. But once in the environment they are almost impossible to remove and can absorb toxins present in the water. Animals can easily mistake the nurdles for food. They have been found in the stomachs and digestive tracts of a variety of species, from seabirds in the North Sea and Australia to green turtles and fish off the coasts of Brazil. The spill is less than three miles away from Marsden Bay, which is home to one of England’s most important seabird colonies. One local resident, Alistair Leadbetter, told the Guardian he was “really shocked” at how many nurdles he saw and said they covered the whole stretch of the South Shields beach. He said he saw children playing on the beach among the pellets. Once nurdles are lost to the environment they can easily be washed, swept or blown vast distances and can accumulate on beaches worldwide. Last year, Fidra found plastic nurdles at 84% of UK sites of special scientific interest. Fidra’s nurdle map , which tracks global nurdle pollution, indicates the pellets may have already spread much further than first thought, with the pellets reported as far south as Sunderland, about seven miles from South Shields. HM Coastguard said it is supporting local authorities in the initial response to the pollution along the North Tyneside coastline, including at Tynemouth Longsands, Cullercoats and King Edward’s Bay. View image in fullscreen Nurdles are tiny pellets, usually about 1-5mm in size, that act as the raw material to manufacture most plastic products. Photograph: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images Heather McFarlane, senior project manager at Fidra, said it is “devastating to see another plastic pellet spill”. skip past newsletter promotion after newsletter promotion She said most pellet pollutio