FASCINATING FACTS

Fidra’s Great Winter Nurdle Hunt which took place across the UK earlier this year saw nurdles found on three-quarters of the 279 beaches searched.

Campaigners estimate up to 53 billion nurdles escape into the UK’S environment every year.

230,000 tonnes are estimated to be entering the seas around Europe every year.

98 per cent of the plastic debris found on some US beaches is nurdles.

Two containers, holding 49 tonnes of nurdles, fell off a ship into the sea at Durban in South Africa earlier this year, contaminating 1200km (745 miles) of coastline. Less than a quarter have been recovered despite a massive clean-up operation.

Most nurdles measure between one and 5mm, so they are small enough to slip through filter systems.

Nurdles soak up pollutants in the sea. A study in Japan showed nurdles with levels of toxins a million times higher than the surrounding sea water.