Nurdle, the non-profit organisation which specialises in the removal of microplastics, were back at Camber Sands this week from Friday 5 December, to help with the clean-up of the 300 million bio-beads, released from Southern Water’s Eastbourne waste water treatment plant in October.
Their visit coincides with this month’s spring tides as the very high tides result in many of the bio-beads appearing on the strandline as the sea uncovers those buried in the sand. This enables the Nurdle vacuum machine to hoover up large numbers of beads that gather along the high tide line. On day one, the team, working from first to last light on the beach, collected 142.25kg of beads, estimated to be around four million.
The following day, a further 90kg were collected and 143 kg on day four. As well as the large Nurdle vacuum, six micro-vacs were used which enabled the team to vacuum all along the strandline.
Once the beads have been collected, they are sieved to separate the sand, seaweed and other natural material, which is then returned to the beach. The plastic beads are floated in water to separate them further, leaving just beads.
Nurdle worked alongside Southern Water contractors who are continuing their daily clean-up on the beach each day using battery-powered sieves to separate the peppercorn-sized beads from the sand and other material. Southern Water say that since 8 November, staff and contractors have been monitoring the 60-mile stretch of coastline in East Sussex and Kent. Despite the efforts so far, the beads will remain on the beach and in the wider environment for years to come.
Work also continues at the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve where beads have been found in the saltmarsh. The sluices and other water control structures that enable the sea to flood the saltmarsh and lagoons, were closed off to stop any further contamination. Mesh nets have been put across the water outlets to capture beads as they enter and leave the reserve, and these are being monitored to assess when the number of beads starts to fall.
The reserve is working with Southern Water, Natural England, the Sussex Wildlife Trust and other experts to plan the next stage which is to remove the beads from the marsh in the most effective way, and which does not disturb the delicate habitat. In a meeting, the CEO of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, Chris Corrigan urged Southern Water CEO Lawrence Gosden to phase out the use of bio-beads in waste treatment works and to use more modern, environmentally friendly methods such as membranes, a call backed by local Hastings and Rye MP, Helena Dollimore.
As well as the environmental damage to local beaches and the reserve, Sarah Broadbent of the Rye Chamber of Commerce and chair of 1066 Country raised concerns about the reputational damage to the region and its tourist industry. The meeting with Southern Water CEO Lawrence Gosden and stakeholder manager Hilary Murgatroyd took place in Rye. Mayor Andy Stuart also attended the discussions on what Southern Water would do to put things right.
On this occasion, Lawrence Gosden did not visit either Camber Sands or the nature reserve to see the pollution for himself.
A Southern Water spokesperson said: “Alongside our daily monitoring and clean-up at Camber Sands and the surrounding area, we are working closely with MPs, councillors, and other key stakeholders to agree on next steps. We will continue to keep people updated.
“As we have previously announced, we will meet the costs of the clean-up, including specialist equipment and contractors, and we can assure customers that this will not impact investment in essential services.”
Nurdle will continue to return to Camber at the next spring tides, which are the most effective times to collect the beads using their vacuum machines.
Image Credits: Paul Tinsley-Marshall , Nurdle .