On December 26, 2023, plastic pellets were found washed up on the coast of Galicia, Spain. noialimpa / Instagram
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Beaches in Spain’s northwestern Galicia region have been flooded with millions of plastic pellets, also known as “nurdles” or “mermaid tears,” Reuters reported.
BNN Breaking reported that the pellets were the remains of common plastic products such as plastic bags and water bottles, and were washed into the sea when a container fell from the Liberian-flagged ship Tokonao.
This environmental incident caused a local reaction.
“People started sending us pictures of bags on the beach in Espinerido on Instagram,” said Madison Houlihan, founder of the environmental group Noia Lympa, as reported by Euro Weekly News. ” he said.
The group noticed an increase in sightings indicating the breach occurred on December 6th around Christmas.
Galicia’s Madrid representative said the regional coast guard was first informed of the incident by a sea rescue team on December 20, Reuters reported.
Alfonso Rueda, a regional leader in Galicia, said the central government had been aware of the pellets for more than two weeks before notifying the government on January 4.
The “inaction in the two weeks since the leak was discovered” was criticized by Ecologista en Acción, a grassroots league of Spanish environmental groups. Ecologistas en Acción said it would file a complaint against the ship’s Dutch owner, Toucan Maritime.
According to Euro Weekly News, Noia Lingpa found about 70 bags, each weighing about 55 pounds, on the shoreline. The bag, which came from Poland’s Bedeco Europe, the manufacturer of the pellets, had been torn and small pieces of plastic were scattered on the beach. Pellets are less than 5 millimeters in diameter and lightweight, making them difficult to remove from fine sand.
Hundreds of volunteers used shovels and colanders to sift through the sand on Monday, Reuters reported.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, 80% of all debris found in the marine environment, from deep sea sediments to surface waters, is made up of plastic, which is ingested by marine life, which also becomes entangled in plastic waste. It is said that there are many cases. .
Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister María Jesús Montero told Spain’s national public broadcaster Television Española that the government is concerned about the possibility of “serious consequences” but is not yet sure about the impact of the incident and its impact on the fishing industry. He said he couldn’t have it. Reuters reported.
The beach cleanup was a reminder of the 2002 oil spill that shut down fishing in Galicia.
“Unfortunately, we all remember images from the past that we would like to erase,” Montero said, as reported by Reuters.
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