A search of 279 beaches around the UK has found that almost three-quarters of th

em were littered with tiny plastic "nurdles".

Volunteers SIGNED UP to search their local shoreline, ranging between Shetland a
nd the Scilly Isles, for the lentil-sized pellets, used as a raw material to mak
e plastic products.
They can cause damage to such wildlife as birds and fish, which eat them.
The findings will be reflected in a government study into microplastics.
What's the problem?
Campaigners estimate that up to 53 billion of the tiny pellets escape into the U
K's environment each year.
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This happens during the manufacture, transport or use of plastic products.
The nurdles are often spilt accidentally into rivers and oceans or fall into dra
ins where they are washed out to sea.
Experts warn nurdles can soak up chemical pollutants from their surroundings and
then release toxins into the animals that eat them.
How easy is it to find a nurdle?
Image caption
Many thousands of nurdles were found near Newquay, Cornwall
The Great Winter Nurdle Hunt survey was carried out by 600 volunteers over a wee
kend in early February.
The largest number recorded were found at Widemouth Bay, Cornwall, where 33 volu
nteers collected some 127,500 pellets found on a 100-metre stretch of beach.
But there were some beach hunts that yielded no nurdles at all, including Spurn
Point in Yorkshire and Sully beach in south Wales.
Nurdles are one of the main sources of "primary microplastics" - small pieces of
plastic which have come from larger items broken down into little bits - in Eur
opean seas.
The Great Winter Nurdle Hunt
53 billion
nurdles estimated to escape into the UK environment each year
230,000 tonnes estimated to be entering the ocean in Europe annually
73% of 279 shorelines surveyed had plastic pellets on them
127,500 nurdles were found on one 100m-stretch of beach in Cornwall
Source: The Great Winter Nurdle Hunt survey, 2017
PA
Have you found nurdles or other interesting rubbish on a beach near you? Send yo
ur pictures and comments to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk
What can be done?
Madeleine Berg of Fidra, a Scottish environmental charity which organised the hu
nt, said it showed action was needed.
"Simple precautionary measures can help spillages and ensure nurdles don't end u
p in our environment," she said.
"We are asking the UK government to ensure best practice is in place along the f
ull plastic supply chain, and any further nurdle pollution is stopped."
One of the companies that has SIGNED UP to Fidra's Operation Clean Sweep is Scot
tish hauliers, John Mitchell, who distribute plastic pellets.
Each of their transporters are fitted with spill kits and black bin bags to coll
ect spilled pellets, which are then recycled.
Plastic oceans: What do we know?
The beaches where Lego washes up
Another step in wider 'war on plastic'
The findings come after another campaign by Fidra, which saw Johnson & Johnson a
nnounce that their cotton buds will no longer have plastic stems.
As of this week, the multinational company will change their buds from plastic t
o paper in almost half the world's countries, including the whole of Europe, in
an attempt to cut marine pollution.
Image caption
Johnson & Johnson's iconic blue cotton bud stems will no longer be made from pla
stic
Plastic stems are one of the most common items of litter found on UK beaches. Th
ey end up in our oceans after the cotton buds - which are not supposed to be flu
shed down the toilet - enter the sewage system.
Waitrose, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer and the Body Shop are among the brands a
lready selling non-plastic cotton buds.
A further 10 retailers including Tesco, Boots and Mothercare have said they will
change from plastic to paper stems by the end of 2017.