Plastic Pellets – a significant but overlooked source of global microplastic pollution

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By Jamie Clarkson, The Great Nurdle Hunt Project Officer

Each year over 22 trillion tiny plastic pellets spill into the environment worldwide. But what are plastic pellets? Where do these pellets come from? How can we stop this major source of global microplastic pollution? This plastic free July we want to draw your attention to an often overlooked source of plastic pollution, and show how we can all help end this preventable source of pollution once and for all.

What are plastic pellets?

Also known as ‘nurdles’, plastic pellets are microplastics approximately the size and shape of a lentil (2-5mm diameter). Pellets are used to make almost all plastic products and are transported along international supply chain networks (1).

Plastic pellets are produced from fossil fuels, biological feedstocks or from recycled plastics. Importantly pellet pollution is distinct from many other sources of plastic pollution as it is the result of industry mismanagement rather than plastic waste.

How do nurdles enter the environment?

Each year over 445,000 tonnes of plastic pellets spill directly into the environment throughout the global plastic pellet supply chain, representing the second largest source of primary microplastic pollution globally (i.e microplastic that is preformed rather than from the breakdown of larger plastic)(1). This loss is the result of mismanagement at production sites, during transportation via land and sea, at plastic conversion sites where pellets are melted down to make plastic products, and at recycling sites where plastic pellets, flakes and powders are produced from waste plastic, and during handling at all points along the pellet supply chain.

Once pellets enter the environment they are highly mobile and can spread over large areas far from the source of pollution, and remain in the environment for many years. The mobility and size of pellets mean that once in the environment, they are extremely difficult to remove.

Through our project The Great Nurdle Hunt, we know thousands of beaches around the world are polluted with pellets. This evidence was collected by over 20,000 volunteers from Norway to New Zealand, showing how widespread the pellet pollution is and how many care about this issue. Pellet pollution can be divided into to two categories;

Acute pollution – this is due to a specific incident (e.g. a train derailment or shipping containers lost at sea), resulting in a high volume of pellets entering the environment in one location, impacting the local area and beyond. Notable examples include the 2021 Xpress pearl disaster in Sri Lanka and the 2023 spill impacting Galicia and northern Spain (2,3).

Chronic pollution - this is the result of continuous loss of pellets over time, leading to a large accumulation in the environment, and is the cause of most pellet pollution in our environment. Locations suffering chronic pollution include the Firth of Forth in Scotland and Tarragona in Spain.

Tiny plastics with a huge impact

Pellet pollution has wide ranging impacts to human and wildlife health, as well as socioeconomic consequences (1). Wildlife, including turtles, fish and puffins, can mistake pellets for food, such as fish eggs. Ingestion can lead to organ and tissue damage such as plasticosis, while suppressing hunger resulting in starvation (4). This also results in the introduction and accumulation of toxic chemicals and plastics in food chains (4,5).

Plastic pellets contain multiple chemicals, which over time leach into the surrounding environment, with research showing impacts including cancer and hormone disruption in humans, and impairing development and growth of marine animals (6,7,8,9). Meanwhile, harmful chemicals, pathogens and bacteria such as E.coli in the environment can be adsorbed onto the pellets surface, producing a toxic cocktail (5). Overtime pellets breakdown in the environment, releasing smaller fragments of plastic, which can enter food chains, passing into animal and human bodily tissues, disrupting their functions (10).

Pellet pollution can also have devastating impacts to local communities and economies, for example disrupting fishing and tourism industries, while impeding communities from enjoying their local environment (1,11).

Ending pellet pollution

Plastic pellet pollution is preventable. Research shows that pellet loss could be reduced by 95% with the implementation of effective preventative measures (12). Past efforts to address pellet pollution have been unsuccessful, as these efforts often addressed only part of the pellet supply chain, lacked scope or were voluntary.

To prevent pellet pollution we need a full supply chain approach, encompassing all actors and sites which handle pellets throughout the global plastic supply chain. A supply chain approach includes mandatory standards and certification to ensure good practice is implemented throughout supply chains, with third party audits to ensure compliance. Verified standards and certification combined with a public register, so companies handling pellets only work with other certified companies, will ensure pellet loss prevention across the whole supply chain.

Coordination across nations is essential to ensure that the full global plastic supply chain is addressed. Some positive steps have begun to be made, in 2024 the International Maritime Organization (IMO) voted in favour of issuing voluntary measures for the transport of pellets at sea. Meanwhile the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of adopting a positive position on new regulation aiming to prevent the loss of pellets from supply chains in the EU. At the United Nations, negotiations for an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, (often called the ‘global plastics treaty’) are underway but more ambition and commitment is needed to ensure pollution prevention.

Join the Global Call for Change!

Plastic production and use is predicted to triple by 2060 (1). By taking part in plastics free July we can raise awareness of the need to reduce the demand for plastics, and thus reducing the volumes of pellets produced and transported through international supply chain, limiting the opportunity for pellets to spill into the environment. While we can’t live without plastic we can use Plastic Free July to re-evaluate our relationship with it and take measures to make sure it is not lost to the environment.

Everyone can help call for an end to nurdle pollution by taking part in Fidra’s The Great Global Nurdle Hunt between the 1st-30th September 2024. Simply head to a beach or river and log any nurdles you find on our map at www.nurdlehunt.org.uk This evidence is used to demonstrate the global scale of the issue to decision makers and show thousands of people around the world are calling for change.

References:

1. Oracle Environmental Experts. (2023) Mapping the global plastic pellet supply chain. Available here.
2. Sirilal, R., Illmer, A. (2021) X-Press Pearl: The 'toxic ship' that caused an environmental disaster. Available here.
3. Jones, S. (2024) Northern Spain on alert as plastic pellets from cargo spill wash up on beaches. Available here.
4. Charlton-Howard, H. S., Bond, A. L., Rivers-Auty, J., & Lavers, J. L. (2023). ‘Plasticosis’: characterising macro-and microplastic-associated fibrosis in seabird tissues. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 450, 131090. Available here.
5. Cverenkárová, K., Valachovičová, M., Mackuľak, T., Žemlička, L., & Bírošová, L. (2021). Microplastics in the food chain. Life, 11(12), 1349. Available here.
6. Geneva Environmental Network (2024) Plastics and Human Health. Available here.
7. UNEP (2023) Chemicals in Plastics - A technical report. Available here.
8. Jimenez-Guri, E., Paganos, P., La Vecchia, C., Annona, G., Caccavale, F., Molina, M. D., ... & Arnone, M. I. (2024). Developmental toxicity of pre-production plastic pellets affects a large swathe of invertebrate taxa. Chemosphere, 356, 141887. Available here.
9. Paganos, P., Ullmann, C. V., Gaglio, D., Bonanomi, M., Salmistraro, N., Arnone, M. I., & Jimenez-Guri, E. (2023). Plastic leachate-induced toxicity during sea urchin embryonic development: Insights into the molecular pathways affected by PVC. Science of The Total Environment, 864, 160901. Available here.
10. Yee, M. S. L., Hii, L. W., Looi, C. K., Lim, W. M., Wong, S. F., Kok, Y. Y., ... & Leong, C. O. (2021). Impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on human health. Nanomaterials, 11(2), 496. Available here.
11. United Nations. (2022) The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment : draft resolution. Available here.
12. Hann, S., Sherrington, C., Jamieson, O., Hickman, M., & Bapasola, A. (2018). Investigating options for reducing releases in the aquatic environment of microplastics emitted by products. PDF available here.

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