Nurdles, also known as mermaids tears, are tiny little pellets of pre-production plastic and can be found washed up on beaches around the UK. It is thought that these nurdles make it into the sea due to mismanagement in factories which make their way into waterways as well as nurdles being accidentally distributed during transit. Nurdles are a problem as marine organisms mistake nurdles for food as they free float in the water column.
‘The Great Nurdle Hunt’ is an organisation which is based in Scotland and supported by many additional organisations which helps to raise awareness about the problems of nurdles. The Great Nurdle Hunt has launched the ‘Great Winter Nurdle Hunt’ from the 3rd to the 5th February where they are asking the general public to go onto their shore, collect and count nurdles and then input results into their website.
Anyone can get involved, all it requires is 15 minutes of time and a trip to the beach. The data collected will help to inform UK government of nurdle associated problems.
For more information about nurdles and the Great Nurdle Hunt, follow this link.
