The Great Nurdle Hunt 2020
/This week (13th-22nd) is the Great Nurdle Hunt set up by Fidra, an environmental charity based in Scotland working to reduce plastic waste and chemical pollution in our seas, on our beaches and in the wider environment.
Nurdles are small plastic pellets about the size of a lentil. They are the start of the plastic manufacturing process, the raw material to create plastic objects and packaging. In the UK, over 6000 companies are part of the plastics industry; producing, importing and converting nurdles into plastic products. Across Europe that figure rises to more than 60,000 companies, with plastics production reaching just over 60 million tonnes in 2018. And globally that number increases to over 350 million tonnes of plastic being produced in 2018, weighing more than the total weight of the human population.
During each stage of the industrial process, from pellet to product, nurdles are spilt. When not cleaned up properly they can enter our rivers and waterways, eventually reaching our oceans. Across the UK it is estimated that as many as 53 billion pellets could enter our oceans every year. That’s 35 full tankers being dumped in the seas. Across Europe that number is estimated to rise to as much as 78,000 tonnes of plastic nurdles annually. With the global estimate being close to 230,000 tonnes of nurdles polluting our oceans every year. Thats ALOT of nurdles!
It’s no wonder that they’re often a common sight on our beaches and found during beach cleans. Like other plastics, nurdles can be mistaken for food by marine wildlife like seabirds, fish, and crustaceans. Once polluting our environment, they can pose a threat to these creatures and habitats for years to come. This is because nurdles are tiny, persistent and potentially toxic. Due to their size, and often clear colour, nurdles can look like fish eggs or other small animals which makes them particularly attractive to seabirds, fish and other marine wildlife.
Anyone who has been on a beach clean will know that nurdles are almost impossible to clean up. Which is why Fidra started The Great Nurdle Hunt. They’re hoping that by raising awareness of this issue, and showing that people care, politicians will start to listen and put pressure on decision makers and industry to do something about it, tackling the problem at source and working with industry to stop the loss of pellets into the environment. Since 2014 they have been asking people across the world to take part in The Great Nurdle Hunt so they can call for change. Using the data submitted by participants they use their nurdle map as a way to evidence the issue, providing clear visual data to help show the impact and therefore start working with decision makers, industry associations and partner NGOs to call for a new Supply Chain Approach to pellet loss to make sure pellet handling companies across the full plastics supply chain have standardised, externally verified best practice in place.
Fidra believe that nurdles don’t need to become marine litter at all and that there are simple measures that can prevent them escaping into the environment. Companies making, transporting and using pellets need to handle pellets with care. Simple steps to prevent spillage and leakage must be in place at all sites and facilities where nurdles are handled. These include preventing spills through improving procedures, providing spill kits and training staff on how to use them, and putting filters in drains.
To get involved all you need to do is either look for an organised nurdle hunt in your area or simply pop down to your nearest beach, river or waterway and hunt for nurdles! You then report back via The Great Nurdle Hunt website filling in a form telling them how many nurdles you find, where you found them, how long you were hunting and how many people took part, its super easy! Gemma had a spare hour on Friday and found herself on Porthtowan beach, a prime nurdle hotspot. In just one hour she picked up around 1000 nurdles found on a square of the beach no bigger than a ruler - really highlighting just how big this issue is!
All info from The Great Nurdle Hunt, be sure to check them out and get involved this week!
