A Massive Amount of Tiny Plastic Pellets Washes Ashore Across Beaches in Galicia, Threatening Local Ecosystems.
Plastic pellets washed up on the beach in Galicia. (Photo: Noia Limpa).
Millions of tiny plastic pellets, also known as nurdles or mermaid tears, have washed ashore on several beaches along the coastline since December 15, 2023, according to local environmental organization Noia Limpa. Approximately 70 bags of plastic pellets, each weighing around 25 kg, have been discovered on the beach by Noia Limpa. Many other pellets have spilled from broken bags, posing a threat to the local ecosystem, Newsweek reported on January 9.
“The first complaints came in mid-December 2023. People started sending us photos of plastic bags on Espiñeirido Beach via Instagram,” said Madison Hourihan, founder and director of Noia Limpa. “Upon receiving information from other coastal areas, we found even more plastic pellets.”
These plastic pellets are used to manufacture various plastic products and are designed to flow into liquid form for molding into different shapes. They are often smaller than 5 millimeters, making them very difficult to clean up from the environment when dispersed due to their ultra-light nature. Every year, 230,000 tons of plastic pellets enter the ocean, becoming the second-largest source of microplastics. These pellets often carry chemical pollutants and toxins from the environment and serve as hosts for numerous bacteria, including E. coli and Vibrio, which can be catastrophic if ingested by marine life.
“Plastic pellets are very durable and can persist for a long time,” explained Ian Williams, a professor of applied environmental science at the University of Southampton in the UK. “They do not easily decompose and can eventually become smaller plastics known as microplastics, which are even harder to remove. To make matters worse, these pellets can absorb toxic chemicals from the water.” According to Williams, chemicals from plastics can alter the microbial life in seawater, harming organisms essential for oxygen production in the ocean, while also disrupting the underwater food web, thereby impacting the local economy reliant on fishing.
The bags of plastic pellets are from the company Bedeko Europe in Poland and were transported on a container ship registered in Liberia. Some containers fell off the ship on December 6, 2023, and drifted past the coastline of Portugal. One container containing pellets drifted ashore, covering beaches in Galicia, located in northern Spain. Despite the scale of the disaster, Noia Limpa is struggling to obtain permits to remove the plastic from the beach. The environmental organization Adega has also criticized the government for its slow response to the accumulating plastic. Meanwhile, Noia Limpa is planning to call for volunteers to clean the beaches, but this process may take considerable time.
