Tynemouth Aquarium provide nurdle spillage update as 600 sign petition for tighter shipping regulations
Over 600 people have signed a petition calling for tighter regulations in the shipping industry following the major nurdle spillage in the Tyne.
Two months on from the spillage, nurdles are continuing to be found up and down the north east coastline, with reports of small plastic pellets being found as north as Amble.
A petition calling ‘for stricter regulations in the shipping industry following the devastating River Tyne nurdle spill’ has received over 600 signatures.
Local residents, school children and local businesses have all helped to clear up the nurdles from beaches, with Tynemouth Aquarium among those that have offered their support to clear up efforts.
A spokesperson on behalf of Tynemouth Aquarium said: “We have quite regular contact with North Tyneside council as they support us in our beach cleans which we carry out multiple times throughout the year (as well as receiving discarded towels from them to use in our seal hospital), so as soon as the news broke about the nurdle spill, we contacted them for advice on how to help as it’s important for us to share correct and safe information for participants.
“We initially began supporting the efforts by sharing safe advice on nurdle collection on our socials and via e-shots as well as offering free PPE for participants. After the response was so big (gloves being collected every day), we proposed becoming a nurdle drop-off zone and the council were thrilled to agree.
“Throughout the day at the aquarium, our aquarists offer various talks about marine life, which is an additional opportunity for us to highlight the devastating impacts of the nurdle spill on the animals living both on land and in the water off our coastlines.
“We hope that the attention raised towards plastics polluting our oceans through this large-scale event will resonate with the public and encourage them to think about the wider impacts of single-use plastics and littering.
“In our previous beach cleans before the nurdle spill, we were finding an unsettling amount of single-use plastic litter (crisp packets, soda bottles, straws) and lots of abandoned single-use BBQs.
“The publicity surrounding this nurdle spill and the educational opportunities for future prevention of plastics entering our beaches and waters will hopefully encourage the public to be more mindful towards reducing, reusing and recycling.”