Minister pledges Government support and praises volunteers after witnessing the nurdle clean up effort in South Shields.

The Marine Minister has taken a first-hand look at South Shields’ ongoing nurdle clean up operation.

Stephen Morgan paid a visit to the Port of Tyne on Monday, August 10, to meet with the various local authorities, the Environment Agency and other organisations involved in cleaning up the plastic pellets, known as ‘nurdles’.

An estimated 17 tonnes of nurdles spilled into the River Tyne in just five seconds following a collision between two ships at the Port of Tyne on Sunday, July 19.

Marine Minister Stephen Morgan visited Littlehaven Beach, in South Shields, for a first-hand look at the ongoing nurdle clean up operation. | Defra

placeholder image — Marine Minister Stephen Morgan visited Littlehaven Beach, in South Shields, for a first-hand look at the ongoing nurdle clean up operation. | Defra

A visit to the Port of Tyne

Mr Morgan and Alan Lovell, the Environment Agency Chair, heard directly from the Port of Tyne’s team about the actions being taken to protect the environment and restore impacted coastal areas.

The Minister also saw how the Environment Agency is mobilising additional drone surveys, vessels and specialist response teams to support targeted nurdle recovery operations.

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During his visit to Littlehaven Beach, the Minister met with volunteers who are helping with the clean up operation. | Defra

Praising the South Shields volunteer effort

After the meeting at the Port, Mr Morgan then paid a visit to South Shields’ Littlehaven Beach where he met with community volunteers who are involved in the clean up operation and thanked them for their work.

He said: "People in the North East rightly expect a strong, coordinated response to this incident.

“That’s why the government and the Environment Agency have been working closely with local partners since this serious pollution happened.

"I want to thank volunteers on the ground, who are spending time every day clearing the beaches and recognise the work of local leaders to bring together organisations and take necessary action.

Mr Morgan visited Littlehaven Beach following a meeting with various organisations and local authorities at the Port of Tyne. | Defra

“Meeting the people at the forefront of the recovery effort is vital so we can better understand the challenges they face and help to ensure the clean-up happens as quickly and effectively as possible.

“The government and the Environment Agency are assisting local partners such as the Port of Tyne in any way we can, including a deploying additional boats, monitoring, providing resources from elsewhere in the country and holding the plastics industry to account.”

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed that the government is working to strengthen laws around the transportation of plastic pellets in an effort to reduce the risk of similar incidents from occurring in the future.