‘We can’t risk this happening again’ - South Shields MP calls for tougher laws on nurdle transportation
The Member of Parliament for South Shields is calling for tighter regulations regarding nurdles.
The South Shields MP is calling on the government to introduce tighter laws on the transportation of nurdles following a spill in the River Tyne.
The Port of Tyne estimates that around 17 tonnes of nurdles went into the water following a collision of two ships on Sunday, July 19.
Since then, the plastic pellets have been washing up on beaches across the North East - with a regionwide clean up operation underway to stop the spread and reduce the environmental impact.
Last month, campaigners held a protest at Littlehaven Beach, in South Shields, where they called for the government to introduce ‘EU-style’ legislation in relation to nurdles.
The European Union law targets a ‘zero pellet loss’ goal by enforcing mandatory spill prevention, containment, clean up and risk management plans across the entire nurdle supply chain.
‘We can’t risk this happening again’
Emma Lewell, the MP for South Shields, has called on the government to introduce tighter laws in relation to nurdles to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
She commented: “I want to think the Port and the Council for employing specialist agencies with the knowledge to assist with this complex work, as well as a ‘thank you’ to all those who are now volunteering to help, in conjunction with the proper advice and guidance.
“I am confident that we have the right people, in the right place, aiding this clean up.
“I also thank the emergency response services, who were deployed.
“My serious concerns remain however about the current legislation regarding the transportation of nurdles - I am writing to the Secretary of State about this and asking for action.
“We can’t risk this happening again.
“From the time of this terrible accident, I have been thinking of those people at the Port who were and are involved.
“A man has been seriously injured and others remain deeply affected and traumatised.”
‘A worldwide shipping issue’
Matt Beeton, CEO at the Port of Tyne, has echoed Ms Lewell’s calls for tighter rules around the transportation of nurdles and vowed that the Port will look to play a key role in the matter.
He said: “The industry can’t just let this keep happening, it needs to learn from this.
“So we’re going to play our part in that because we don’t want this happening to anyone again.
“If there is anything good coming from this in the long term, it’s that we’ve got to change the way that these things are shipped and categorised.
“This isn’t just a UK Government issue, it is a worldwide shipping issue and we’ll be playing an active role in bringing shipping organisations together.
“We’ll play a part in all of this moving forward and hopefully we can be a catalyst to help convene the relevant authorities.”
That total doesn’t include what has been removed from North East beaches and the clean up operation consisting of specialist contractors and volunteers remains ongoing across the region.