Plastic pellets from Tyne spill reach Danish coast

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 27 Oct, 01:31 · Archive

Plastic pellets from a July spill at the Port of Tyne have been identified on beaches in Denmark, nearly 390 miles away.

On 19 July, a wind turbine installation vessel called the Wind Orca collided with a container ship at the Port of Tyne, causing a gantry crane to collapse. Two containers on the berthed ship, the BG Orange, were carrying nurdles—pre-production plastic pellets about the size of a lentil used to manufacture everyday plastic goods. About 18 tonnes of these pellets spilled into the water, believed to be the worst recorded incident of its type in Europe.

According to Newcastle University researcher Dr Matthew Perks, the spill contained approximately 768 million nurdles, though the true number could range from 639 million to 1.2 billion depending on individual pellet weights. Since July, volunteers have collected microplastics that continue to wash up on north-east England's coast.

In September, plastic pellets were discovered along Denmark's western coast. The Danish Environment Protection Agency confirmed through testing that the nurdles had the same characteristics as those from the Tyne spill. The pellets, found on the island of Mandø and nearby locations roughly 390 miles away, arrived in late September and early October in patterns consistent with North Sea currents and circulation.

How it is being reported

• Nurdles spilled in Port of Tyne crash may have reached as far as DenmarkThe pellets have littered North East beaches since the spill in JulyChronicleLive · 27 Oct, 01:00
• What do we still need to know about the Tyne nurdle spill?The spill of 18 tonnes of plastic pellets happened in July but there is still a lot we do not know.BBC Tyne And Wear · 26 Oct, 06:07

In this story: Port of Tyne · Wind Orca · River Tyne · Denmark · Newcastle University · North Sea · Germany

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