Campaigners warn the waters are one of the most common microplastics in the seas, washing up on beaches from New Zealand to Cornwall. The colorful pellets produced by petrochemical companies are used as building blocks for plastic products, from bags to bottles and piping. Billions of curls washed up in Sri Lanka in May last year after the container ship X-Press Pearl caught fire and sank in the Indian Ocean. The United Nations said the spill of about 1,680 tonnes of curling iron was the worst maritime disaster in Sri Lanka’s history, with one official saying the spill was like a “cluster bomb”. The International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency, has asked pollution experts to consider options for “reducing the environmental risk associated with the maritime transport of plastic nurdles.” The IMO said a panel of experts would submit its findings for a meeting in April next year. Sri Lanka has requested that infants carried on container ships be recognized as a harmful substance and hazardous to the marine environment. It would mean stricter procedures to reduce the risk of leakage. In a submission by Sri Lanka to the IMO following the sinking of the X-Press Pearl, officials said: “The incident resulted in the death of marine species such as turtles, whales and dolphins. “Immediate action is needed to regulate and better coordinate the handling, management and transport of plastic pellets throughout the supply chain. The voluntary initiatives of the plastics industry are not enough.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Sri Lanka’s call was supported by Norway. In February 2020, the cargo ship Trans Carrier spilled more than 13 tons of curlews, which were scattered along the coasts of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Scottish-based environmental charity Fidra is organizing the big dredge hunt to monitor pellet pollution around the world. He says the threads are tiny, persistent and potentially toxic. They have been found littered around the UK coastline, with 401,230 bolts collected in a single clean-up at Tregantle Beach near Plymouth. They have also been found on the Dorset coast, the Isles of Scilly, Anglesey and on the banks of the Thames in London. Nearly 370 million tons of plastic are produced each year, with China accounting for nearly a third. A research center at the University of Texas has calculated that it takes 1,005 bottles to make a plastic bottle, 665 bottles to make a toothbrush and 174 to make a supermarket bag. Campaigners say billions of sea urchins pollute waterways and seas every year due to accidental spillage during production and transport. Insurance companies also want stricter rules on transporting and storing the bottles, because of the financial and environmental costs of spills. Jörg Asmussen, chief executive of the German Insurance Association, said: “Waters that have exceeded the sea can cause great environmental damage in the long term and threaten the biodiversity of coastal areas.”
