Scots beach that’s worst for plague of toxic plastic pellets
THE vast majority of Britain’s beaches are contaminated with plastic pellets which can be harmful to wildlife and sea creatures. The ‘nurdles’ have been discovered on 93 per cent of beaches, research shows, with the worst one in Fife – where 450,000 pellets were found.
The study has led to renewed calls for the Scottish Government to impose new regulations on manufacturers to crack down on the problem.
Alasdair Neilson, of environmental charity Fidra, which carried out the research, said: ‘It’s shocking to see how prevalent nurdles are across the UK coastline.
‘While parts of industry have cleaned up their act, it is clear the status quo can’t solve this issue.
‘For nurdle pollution to be eliminated, responsibility and transparency is needed right across the supply chain.’
During the charity’s Great British Nurdle Hunt, volunteers found the worst problem was on the Forth near the Grangemouth refinery, with the 450,000 nurdles discovered on a beach at North Queensferry.
Other problem spots included Bo’ness, near Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, and Gullane in East Lothian. Nurdles were found as far west as the Isle of Barra, in the Outer Hebrides, and as far north as Collieston, Aberdeenshire.
The UK processes around 3.3million tons of plastics a year, almost all in nurdle form. The pellets are easily spilt during handling and, if not cleaned up, can end up down drains, in waterways and at sea.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, who has been leading the campaign for tougher Government regulations, said: ‘These plastic pellets are polluting our beaches and the scale of the issue is quite staggering.
‘We need to see clear action from the Government to tackle plastic pollution, including potentially legislation to compel industry to take part. We must not sit back and wait for someone else to clean this problem up.’
Dunfermline and West Fife MP Douglas Chapman, who attended the nurdle hunt at North Queensferry, said: ‘It shows just how big this problem is to find so many at a single location.’
A spokesman for Grangemouth petrochemical complex operator Ineos said its zero pellet loss strategy had seen investment in equipment, training and awareness for employees, as well as mitigation measures to deal with any spills.
He said: ‘We have pledged our support and signed up to Operation Clean Sweep, an international programme to reduce pellet loss.
‘As a responsible operator we regularly review our operations.
‘Our commitment to the highest standards of health, safety and environment underpins all of the work we do at Grangemouth.’
The Scottish Government said: ‘We are working with the plastics sector and relevant bodies to identify how to protect our marine environment from nurdle loss.
‘The plastics industry has developed a scheme to reduce nurdle loss and it is encouraging that many producers have committed to this, although this report shows there is a clear need to do more.
‘Fidra and its volunteers deserve great credit for their work to highlight this problem.’