Thousands of plastic pellets on Littlehaven beach after ship crash

People have been urged not to touch the ‘nurdles’ and keep dogs on leads after they washed up on Littlehaven beach.

It comes after the crash involving the vessel Wind Orca and the container ship BG Orange on the south bank of the Port of Tyne on Sunday (July 19), leaving a man in hospital. A dockside gantry crane was damaged in the impact.

South Tyneside Council said: “We are responding to reports of plastic pellets known as ‘nurdles’ washing up on sections of Littlehaven beach following a vessel collision in the River Tyne.

“Working alongside the Environment Agency, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Port of Tyne and other partner organisations, we are assessing the extent of the contamination and any potential environmental impacts.

“Our priority is protecting the coastline and supporting the coordinated response being led by the relevant agencies and those responsible for the incident. Council teams are monitoring affected locations and are supporting any clean-up activity undertaken by specialist contractors.”

Nurdles are small raw material pellets used to make plastic products. They are transported in bulk and melted down to form everything from bottles and packaging to household items, which means spills at sea can quickly turn into widespread pollution along the coastline.

(Image: North News)

Nurdles are small enough to be easily mistaken for food by birds and marine creatures, and can adsorb toxins from the surrounding water, turning them into tiny, toxic “sponges” inside the food chain.

Heather McFarlane, senior project manager at Scottish environmental charity Fidra, said the sight of fresh pellets on the beach was “devastating” so soon after a major North Sea spill last year.

She warned that plastic pellets are “very difficult to clean up” and, if not contained quickly, “can spread far from the original spill site”, affecting communities, tourism and wildlife over a wide area.

“Most pellet pollution can be prevented with simple measures like better packaging and safer stowage,” she said, calling for tougher UK rules to stop similar incidents.

“We urgently need stronger UK regulation to prevent pollution on land and mandatory measures at sea to stop spills like this in the future.”