Plastic nurdles from the Port of Tyne spill have been found as far as 30 miles away on Northumberland beaches, with new measures announced to tackle the continuing pollution.
Over one billion small plastic pellets are estimated to be littering the North East coastline following a collision on July 19. Thousands of the beads have spilled into the Tyne and washed up on beaches across the region.
The Tyne Rivers Trust said the full extent of the spill could take years to understand. Beachgoers have been urged to help prevent a plastics “nightmare”, while animals have reportedly been spotted eating the pellets, mistaking them for food.
Nurdles found near Amble
North East Mayor Kim McGuiness said nurdles have washed up at Amble, with special bins to be put in the town for disposal of the pellets.
McGuiness said: “In the last few days nurdles have been found by local people on beaches near Amble, further up the coast than we have seen before. The numbers are thankfully small but this shows why we cannot let up on the fight to protect our precious coastline.”
She added that the Environment Agency will send officers to the Amble area to advise local people, and Northumberland County Council has put out special bins for volunteers to use during clean-ups.
Independent review announced
McGuiness said she was glad the shipping company insurers have paid to increase the number of workers responding to the spill, employing a local workforce that she wants to see stay in place.
She added: “We also need to make sure we learn from this disaster, for the North East and the world. I have asked for an independent expert to lead the review into how our region responded and this review will report back to me before Christmas.”
McGuiness thanked everyone who has helped with the clean-up, saying: “I have met so many people who have helped, it makes me proud to be Mayor of our North East.”
