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Record number of plastic nurdles found on beaches as environmental groups call for tougher laws | World News


More barriers have been found on beaches than ever before as environmental groups call for legislation to classify them as marine pollutants so they are subject to stricter laws during handling and transportation. .

Nurdles are tiny plastic beads used by industry to make nearly all of our plastic products, but commodity and factory spills mean more plastic particles escape into the environment and end up in the water. out to sea.

They can have devastating consequences for wildlife and can absorb chemical pollutants before releasing toxins into the creatures that eat them.

This year’s Great Global Obstacle Hunt, organized by environmental charity FIDRA, has found a record number of obstacles on beaches around the world.

Hunts took place in 317 locations across 23 countries, and they were found in 90% of locations. The only country where no barriers were found is Indonesia.

Limekilns, a village about 17 miles from Edinburgh, is one of the hardest hit areas in the UK – and it doesn’t take long to find fenced-in beaches.

Joanna McFarlane, chairwoman of the CLP Nature Conservancy, told Sky News: “What we’re dealing with is historic loss and I’d say a lot of barriers have stood here for decades and they’re being washed away, maybe pulled up from the bottom of the Firth of Forth and deposited, or they’re just sitting in the bank.

Joanna McFarlane
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Joanna McFarlane says many of the obstacles on the Limekilns coast have probably been there for decades

“Sometimes you can pull the sandbank away and the barriers only take up half of the sandbank.

“The question is who is responsible for those barriers and why shouldn’t anyone be responsible for the barriers that are polluting our beaches and communities right now.”

“We wanted to ask why no one is responsible for this pollution on the beach that we live in every day. Children are playing in it, wildlife is eating it, will anyone bear it? responsibility?”

Impact barriers to the environment are devastating, and spills could cause billions of people to be released into the oceans.

After a fire on a ship off the coast of Sri Lanka in 2021, between 50 and 75 billion nurds is believed to have drifted into the sea – believed to be the world’s worst oil spill.

Megan Kirton
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Megan Kirton says it’s virtually impossible to clear the barriers so preventive action is important

Megan Kirton, project officer at FIDRA, told Sky News: “Besides the beach doesn’t look very good and the beaches are littered with plastic waste, unfortunately a lot of the beaches have been mistaken for a lot of marine animals. is food.

“Animals such as seabirds, fish, dolphins and baby turtles have all been found to eat nurdles because they are easily mistaken for food.”

She says that animals feel full when they are full and therefore do not eat the proper food.

Ms Kirton added: “Once barriers are in the environment, they are virtually impossible to clear, so we need to take preventive action to prevent them from entering in the first place.”

FIDRA is working with the International Fauna and Flora to urge the International Maritime Organization to enforce the law to officially classify the barriers as marine pollutants.

This will change the way they are handled and shipped.

Tanya Cox, Senior Technical Specialist at Fauna and Flora International
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Tanya Cox wants nurdles to be classified as a marine pollutant so they are packaged more strictly

Tanya Cox, senior technical specialist at Fauna and Flora International, told Sky News they need to be recognized as contaminants due to their “pervasive polluting nature”.

“Currently, the tablets are not classified in any way for shipping by sea,” Ms. Cox said.

“We need to see particles officially classified as marine pollutants so they are packaged more rigorously, they are more clearly labeled, and the presence of particles on board is communicated to shippers.” luggage so that they can be stowed safely and securely under deck .

“If we don’t see that happen, I think it’s really a case of saying time is running out.”

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