Following the ‘allision‘ of the container ship, Solong, and the fuel tanker, Stena Immaculate, off the East Yorkshire coast, co-ordinated efforts to clear up the resultant pollution have intensified.
The tides have brought the plastic nurdles and burnt, melded clumps of nurdles to the western Norfolk shores. Nurdles are microplastics that are melted down and used in the production of plastic items. They are very small, measuring between 1–5mm, and so are notoriously difficult to retrieve whether on land or in the water. Responsibility for removing pollution from beaches rests with the district council. Hence, the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk is instrumental in coordinating the clean-up. Meanwhile, HM Coastguard are continuing aerial surveillance flights to monitor the situation.
Nurdle removal
The clean-up team started collecting plastic pollution that had washed up along an initial stretch of shoreline between Holme-next-the-Sea towards Old Hunstanton. Having removed smaller deposits and assessed the situation, an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) is being used to push the larger deposits of the polluting plastic above the tideline so it does not wash back out to sea. The council’s focus is on collecting the larger clumps and shore debris while the coastguard is focused on removing suspended nurdles from the water. At the time of publishing, council workers have visited and cleared Holme-next-the-Sea to Old Hunstanton, Brancaster and Titchwell beaches.
The borough council is liaising with partners, including wildlife organisations, to identify the best way to remove as many of the smaller plastic nurdles as possible from local beaches. As they work, it is critical that they minimise any impact on the environment and wildlife.
Affected beaches
The National Trust (NT) told East Anglia Bylines that there is already an early response to address the nurdles and burnt plastic resin that are washing ashore on Brancaster beach.
“Contractors working for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have been on site assessing the debris that has washed up,” said an NT spokesperson. “They have been gathering up the pieces of plastic and moving them beyond the tide line, ready to be removed from the beach.”
At the time of writing, the NT reported that there were no visible signs of pollution at Blakeney Point Nature Reserve. That said, the Trust remains concerned about the impact the polluting nurdles and burnt nurdle clumps will have on wildlife, including the grey seal colony at Blakeney.
“The next phase of the clean-up will be co-ordinated by Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council and we will be supporting this effort in any way we can,” said the NT.
The borough council are doing regular beach surveys of the beaches in our area to identify areas that need cleaning. “Our priority as a council is to clean up this plastic pollution from our beaches for people and wildlife,” said Cllr Sandra Squire, Cabinet member for Environment and Coastal. “We ask that residents and visitors who are enjoying our beaches continue to take care with anything that you come across on the beach. Our clean-up team are wearing gloves and using litter pickers as a reasonable precaution because they’re handling waste.”
HM Coastguard reports that the incident has now moved into the recovery phase. The beach clean-up operation is expected to take a few weeks. It is possible that further pollution might wash up during that time, and travel further east along the north Norfolk coastline.
If you come across any nurdles or possible pollution along the Norfolk coast or surrounding areas, please call Humber Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre on 0344 382 0580 or email zone8@hmcg.gov.uk . If possible, please provide a ‘What Three Words’ location or a grid reference to assist HM Coastguard to identify the exact location.
In an emergency call 999 and ask for the coastguard.
