Twelve volunteers collected 180,000 nurdles in just two hours at Ferrycraigs, North Queensferry on Sunday 20th May, marking the latest evidence gathering effort, given the long history of chronic and sustained microplastic pollution in the Firth of Forth.
Dedicated environmental groups such as Fidra, the Marine Conservation Society, eXXpedition, the Greenpeace Beluga II and many other local groups have consistently reported high volumes of pre-production plastic pellets, or nurdles, on the banks of the Forth, with specific sites neighbouring industry suffering the highest volumes.
Wardie Bay Beachwatch volunteers decided to investigate pollution levels on Sunday at Ferrycraigs, since 9kg were reportedly collected there in April at the launch of Fidra’s nationwide Great Technicolour Nurdle Hunt. In June last year, as part of their Great European Nurdle hunt, 25 Wardie Bay Beachwatch volunteers swept up 2,400 nurdles in one hour at Wardie Beach in Edinburgh, with a further 1,260 collected this year as part of the Great Technicolour Nurdle Hunt.
On Friday 9th September last year, Wardie Bay Beachwatch joined Fidra, MCS and others to clean up a slick of pellets contaminating the Kinneil Nature Reserve neighbouring the INEOS Grangemouth petrochemical plant. Volunteers removed more than half a million nurdles, witnessing millions more.
As a result of all this evidence, and given the persistence of this specific, unchallenged pollution, Wardie Bay Beachwatch volunteers have today written to their MSPs to ask SEPA and the Scottish Government why no immediate action is being taken to call industry to account for the damage done to our environment.
Karen Bates, volunteer and organiser of Wardie Bay Beachwatch said: “It isn’t right that volunteers are here cleaning up after industry. How is it that there is so little accountability to stop microplastic and plastic pollution at source? Where it is clear that industry’s own backyard is polluted, why does the responsibility for clean-up not lie with them?
“If it was an oil spill they would certainly be made to compensate and to act. I want to see industry redesign entirely so that fewer plastics are manufactured from raw materials. We don’t need yet more single-use plastic from yet more fossil fuel. We need more responsible handling of our resources to stop threatening the balance of nature.
“Local industry seems to think that the resources of this planet are to be exploited and to hell with the consequences. We unquestionably need the enforcement of stricter laws urgently to protect public and environmental health before the damage done by plastic and microplastic producers is irreversible.”
Six year old Piper MacDougall, her brother Cosmo, mum Jo and grandma Gail are dedicated nurdle hunters and regular Wardie Bay Beachwatch volunteers. Piper said: “There’s just so many nurdles, it’s so sad. Why is this allowed? When I grow up I hope there are no nurdles on the beach.”
The next Wardie Bay Beachwatch, providing citizen science data to the Marine Conservation Society, will take place on Saturday 16th June. An SOS citizen sculpture will be made as part of the event, to be represented at the Edinburgh Shoreline project exhibition at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in July.
For further information, contact Karen Bates: wardiebaybeachwatch@gmail.com or sign up at https://www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/beach/wardie-bay-beach/event/2018-06-16.
Find Wardie Bay Beachwatch on facebook @WardieBayBeachwatch or on twitter @wardiebaybeach.
Pictures: Joanna MacDougall
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