A vessel collision at the Port of Tyne has resulted in plastic pellet (nurdle) pollution washing ashore on the coast of North East England.
Last updated 28/08/2026
On the afternoon of 19th July, at approximately 1300hrs, the vessel Wind Orca was leaving dock when it collided with the berthed container ship BG Orange at the Port of Tyne. The collision caused significant damage to a dockside gantry crane and resulted in one person being taken to hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening. An investigation into the incident is underway.
Nurdle pollution estimates
We now understand that 2 shipping containers of plastic pellets, also called nurdles, were damaged and nurdles were reported on local beaches following the incident. Nurdles are made by the plastic industry to make almost all plastic products. One shipping container can contain approximately 25 tonnes of nurdles or 1 billion (1000,000,000) individual plastic pellets and they are a form of microplastic pollution. We were initially informed that 1 shipping container or 25 tonnes of nurdles was lost but now it has been confirmed that 2 containers containing nurdles were damaged, releasing an estimated 17 tonnes of nurdles into the Port. We are still awaiting further details on how many got into the environment and the exact composition of the nurdles, including the type of plastic and whether is contained any toxic chemical additives (toxic chemicals have been identified in plastic pellets in previous spills). No other contaminants or pollutants from the ship have been reported.
The plastic pellets have been reported on beaches as far north as Amble, and appear to have spread even further south, with nurdles reported as far as Scarborough.
Clean up and response
As this incident happened in port the initial containment involves the Port of Tyne and Maritime and Coastguard Agency who released a statement on 23 July 2026. Reports suggest the Port of Tyne initially prioritized the salvage operation of the ship and crane, with a boom not being deployed to contain the nurdles until 4 days after the spill. This allowed the nurdles to spill out of port and along the coastline, washing up on numerous beaches.
Following a spill landowners are responsible for clean up on shore, this often requires specialist advice, equipment and support as well as community involvement. South Tyneside Council, North Tyneside Council, Sunderland Council and Northumberland County Council are all aware of the pollution impacting their coastline and have issued statements. Councils have been conducting their own clean ups and arranging private specialist contractors to clean up the spill, although this has been restricted to a limited number of beaches. The costs of clean up should be recovered from those responsible (or their insurers) under the polluter pays principle.
Towards the end of August there has been some frustration from community members that some contracted clean-up crews have been stood down, despite nurdles continuing to wash up on beaches.
Community clean up
Initially members of the public were asked by councils not to take part in clean-ups but now North Tyneside Council volunteer guidance, Northumberland Council guidance and South Tyneside Council volunteer guidance have published guidelines for the public to get involved. Local community groups have launched an amazing response arranging clean ups, further information can be found by visiting the community led website or joining community WhatsApp groups:
An open letter signed by 2,400 concerned community members has also been issued to the port authority. The community members then met with the Port Authority on the 3rd of August where they received an update on the events of the spill and the Port's ongoing actions to clean up the nurdles. Community members are still concerned that there are significant volumes of nurdles accumulating in the port and further up the river, which then have the potential to spread out to sea.
We heard directly from community members at our recent webinar, which you can watch on YouTube now.
Environmental impact
Nurdle pollution can have major impacts on wildlife health. Nurdles can easily be mistaken for food by wildlife, with ingestion potentially leading to starvation, ulceration, organ damage and even death. Over 220 marine species have been shown to ingest plastic debris, with nurdles found in puffins, turtles, fish, urchins and more. Nurdles can leach, transport and adsorb harmful chemicals and pathogens in the environment creating a toxic cocktail, while microplastic fragments released as nurdles age can enter human and animal tissues disrupting their function. This spill happened less than three miles away from Marsden Bay home to one England's most important seabird colonies. Sadly, birds and fish have already been documented eating nurdles resulting from the spill.
What to do if you find nurdles?
While it is not the responsibility of communities to clean up pollution many people want to help protect their beaches from this nurdle pollution. There is North Tyneside Council volunteer guidance, South Tyneside Council volunteer guidance, and Northumberland Council volunteer guidance and communities have been self organising clean-ups. Further information on community clean-ups can be found by visiting the community led website or joining community WhatsApp groups:
You can also help to raise awareness and map the pollution by submitting your findings to via our map or download the Great Nurdle Hunt app.
Reporting to your council:
If you find nurdles in South Tyneside please report your findings, with images, date, time and location to South Tyneside Council by email:
In Sunderland you can report finds online
In North Tyneside you can report finds online
In Northumberland you can report finds via their fix my street reports
For those outside of these areas if you find large numbers of pellets please can contact the Government’s Pollution Hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or online at www.gov.uk/report-environmental-problem
Make nurdle pollution public knowledge:
If you see nurdles you can report publicly via our map or download the Great Nurdle Hunt app. This helps to document the spread of nurdle pollution from this spill which we can share with councils, landowners, researchers, the press and on social media to raise further awareness of this issue, build evidence and this public record helps hold those responsible to account as we push for change. Find out more on how to do a nurdle hunt
Further information
For updates on the spill please follow the Great Nurdle Hunt on instagram , facebook and tiktok and we will update this bulletin page regularly as information becomes available.
Information on managing plastic pellet spills can be found here.
Further information and resources on solutions to pellet pollution and policy can be found here.
Learn more about nurdle pollution here.