Millions of plastic particles are being released from sewage treatment plants on Britain's east coast, polluting the North Sea and even drifting to the Dutch coast, according to a study published by the Plastic Soup Foundation, a marine conservation group.
Millions of plastic pellets are entering UK oceans as plastics industry slows to transform
Sewage treatment plants in the UK use black plastic particles called bio beads (or nurdles) to filter water, but sewage overflows and heavy rain can wash them into waterways and into the sea.
The study found that wastewater treatment plants in Ipswich, Hull, and Grimsby in the UK were the most likely sources of plastic. Once plastic particles enter the sea, they could be carried by storms, wind, and tides to the coast of the Western Scheldt in southwestern Netherlands. The report warns that the plastics industry is failing to take adequate precautions to prevent the release of millions of plastic particles into the ocean.
"Plastic pollution levels are reaching new highs, and relying solely on government plastic policies is insufficient," said Oskar de Roos, a plastics expert at WWF Netherlands. "The plastics industry is moving too slowly towards a circular economy, and pollution from nanoplastics is a direct consequence."
Biobeads are plastic pellets used in the production of plastic products. They can be made from polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and other plastic raw materials and can cause great damage to ecosystems, wildlife and humans.
In this report, researchers traced back to a pollution event in March 2019, when thousands of black plastic particles washed up on beaches in the province of South Holland. Using data, the researchers traced the plastic particles back to the estuaries of the Orwell and Stour rivers in Ipswich, UK. The report also found that at least one million plastic particles were present in these estuaries.
UN to draft plastic pollution treaty; NGOs unite to fight petrochemical companies
The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) recently agreed to develop an international treaty on plastic pollution. The treaty will establish legally binding regulations for the production and disposal of plastics, with the goal of significantly reducing the amount of plastic pollution entering the environment from 2024.
Environmental campaigners have long warned that industries and governments around the world are failing to tackle the plastic waste problem.
Based on the report's findings, the Plastic Soup Foundation has joined forces with environmental law group ClientEarth and 12 other NGOs to launch legal action against British petrochemical company Ineos's permit to build a plastics factory in the Belgian port city of Antwerp.
Maria Westerbos, director of the Plastic Soup Foundation, said their report provided another basis for "rejecting Ineos's new ethane cracker plant at the port of Antwerp and the production of more plastics."
"It is clear that Westerskiölds is seriously contaminated by plastic particles and urgent action must be taken to stop the leakage of plastic at the source," said Westerbos.
Source: Environmental Information Center (https://e-info.org.tw/node/233583)
