Marine Minister Stephen Morgan visited Sandhaven Beach in South Shields on Monday morning to thank volunteers involved in the nurdle clean-up. Thousands of residents have been cleaning beaches from Northumberland to Sunderland since plastic pellets spilled into the River Tyne after a collision between the Wind Orca and BG Orange on Sunday, July 19.
Minister's visit and statement
Morgan was joined by Environment Agency chair Alan Lovell. The Environment Agency has faced criticism from community groups and local leaders for perceived lack of support, with Kim McGuinness branding the EA "absent" and campaigner Olly Armstrong calling for the spill to be treated as a "national emergency." The agency said it had been actively involved "from the outset."
ChronicleLive was not given the opportunity to question Morgan or Lovell and was issued a statement via press release. The statement read: "I want to thank volunteers on the ground, who are spending time every day clearing the beaches and recognise the work of local leaders to bring together organisations and take necessary action. Meeting the people at the forefront of the recovery effort is vital so we can better understand the challenges they face and help to ensure the clean-up happens as quickly and effectively as possible."
The statement added: "The government and the Environment Agency are assisting local partners such as the Port of Tyne in any way we can, including deploying additional boats, monitoring, providing resources from elsewhere in the country and holding the plastics industry to account."
Port of Tyne response and ongoing efforts
Port of Tyne has said that putting more boats on the river risks hindering the clean-up, as they can disperse pellets and make them harder to collect. The Port says it has responded by getting "global experts" to manage the River Tyne and has entered the second phase of a "complex operation" which initially prevented a further 58 tonnes of nurdles spilling into the river.
The Government says a call was led by Minister Morgan and Ports Minister Keir Mather on August 7 with key partners, elected mayors, and lead responding organisations to discuss recovery progress and identify where additional government support could assist local efforts.
Morgan also saw how the Environment Agency is mobilising additional drone surveys, vessels, and specialist response teams to strengthen monitoring and support targeted recovery operations. Community Officers are standing by for immediate deployment to support affected communities with advice and information.
Defra is working with marine science experts at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) to strengthen environmental monitoring and analysis. The release also stated the government is working to strengthen protections around the transportation of plastic pellets such as nurdles and reduce the risk of similar incidents in future.
