‘Time is of the essence’ - South Shields surfers call for volunteers to help remove nurdles from the beaches
A rallying call has been issued for volunteers to help with the nurdle clean up in South Shields.
South Shields Surf CIC has issued a rallying call to members of the public to get to the coast and help with the nurdle clean up operation.
It is estimated that around one billion plastic pellets, known as ‘nurdles’, spilled into the River Tyne following a ship collision at the Port of Tyne on Sunday, July 19.
Since then, nurdles, which are the raw material of manufacturing plastics, have been washing up on beaches across the North East.
South Tyneside Council had previously asked members of the public to leave the clean up to specialist contractors but has since issued advice to the public on how they can volunteer.
‘Pick up those bits of plastic’
Nick Jones, Director at South Shields Surf CIC, has stated that the biggest impact can be made in the coming days due to the borough experiencing high tides.
He said: “We need volunteers down on our beaches, the guys at Nurdle are doing a fantastic job over at Littlehaven but they need our help to scour the coast.
“This week is the week that we need to get going because we’ve got bigger tides until the weekend - right now the sea is filtering the nurdles for us and pushing them into a neat line at high tide.
“After this weekend, the tides will be smaller so the nurdles will get stuck and trampled into the sand.
“The more people who come down, the better - people shouldn’t wait to be organised, you can go and help.
“Wear a pair of gloves, pick them up and put them into the nurdle collection bins.
“We are creating ‘nurdle sifting’ bags and we have tools here at the surf school so if you’re unsure, you can come along and ask us.
“If you’ve got a sieve, a spade, some gloves and a bin bag then get down here and pick up those bits of plastic.
“A massive thanks to all the volunteers who have helped so far, this is community action at its core and it only happens because people take action themselves.”
‘If you can help, then please help’
Nancy Arthur, a Director at South Shields Surf CIC, was one of the first volunteers in South Tyneside to receive training from Nurdle on how to help with the clean up.
She added: “The sheer volume of plastic was shocking when we first went down, especially given that Nurdle had already been here for a day or two.
“The amount is visibly reducing but I don’t think we’ll see the environmental impact for a while yet.
“The volunteer effort has skyrocketed in the last few days and there is a lot of people wanting to know what they can do to help.
“People want to help and they are spending hours here picking nurdles up by hand.
“It needs to be consistent and we need to keep going - if you can help, then please help.”
South Shields Surf CIC has stated that the following times are when is best to help:
- Wednesday, July 29: 4.45pm until 9pm.
- Thursday, July 30: 6am until 10am and 5.30pm until 9.30pm.
- Friday, July 31: 6am until 10am and 6.15pm until 9.30pm.
- Saturday, August 1: 6am until 10am and 6.30pm until 9.30pm.
South Tyneside Council’s volunteering guidance is available at: https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/31271/Volunteer-guidance-for-plastic-pellets-nurdles.