Hastings and Rye MP, Helena Dollimore was at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve on Thursday 11 December, alongside members and supporters of the reserve, to launch the campaign to end the use of plastic bio-beads in wastewater treatment plants. Bin the Beads is also backed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT).
This follows the devastating release of millions of beads from Southern Water’s Eastbourne treatment works which have been washed up in huge quantities on the beach at Camber Sands and are also present in the saltmarsh of SWT’s Rye Harbour Nature Reserve.
Helena Dollimore said, “A month ago, I wasn’t aware that these plastic beads were used in local wastewater plants until 320 million washed up on our beaches and nature reserve, causing an environmental catastrophe. The use of beads is an outdated technology and better modern methods exist. So why are water companies still using them in coastal plants — the very place they could do most damage? We’re calling for them to bin the beads.”
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is one of the largest and most important wildlife sites in England, home to more than 4,355 species of plants and animals including 300 that are rare or endangered. The plastic pellets are dangerous for wildlife as they can be mistaken for food.
Henri Brocklebank, Director of Conservation, Sussex Wildlife Trust said, “Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is internationally important for its birds, with species travelling thousands of miles to feed and breed here. Bio-beads are small and buoyant, not dissimilar to many of the food items these birds are searching for. The impact of bioplastics accumulating in the digestive systems is well documented, but the effects of any contaminants that could be released in the acidic gut systems of these birds are far less understood. The removal of the bio-beads from the environment is paramount, but I fear that our grandchildren will still be finding them in years to come.
“There is only one way to guarantee that we never have a spill of bio-beads again. That is to stop our wastewater treatment works from using them. They are an old and redundant technology, and we must see their use ended swiftly.”
As reported in the paper this week, research from scientists at Kings College, London has found heavy metals in beads collected at Camber, raising concerns about their toxicity.
Helena Dollimore has set up a petition calling for an end to the use of beads by water companies and can be signed here.
Image Credits: Gesine Garz .