On March 10th, the Solong container ship collided with the Stena Immaculate while it was anchored 12 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire.

Six days later, plastic pellets and degraded plastic conglomerates began washing up on the North Norfolk coastline.

Shortly afterward, significant volumes of this pollution began appearing along the Lincolnshire coast.

Nurdle responded immediately, focusing initial cleanup efforts at Gibraltar Point to stay ahead of the upcoming bird nesting season. After successful operations and equipment donations to the Wildlife Trust, we were tasked with expanding our efforts to Crown Estate lands, further North.

Upon arrival, it became clear that this area was the main impact zone. The concentration of plastic pellets and larger fragments was considerably higher than at Gibraltar Point – although the ecological sensitivity was lower.

In total, we removed approximately 85kg of pellets and 280kg of larger plastic waste. We gained coverage from the BBC, and recruited volunteers from our headline sponsor, Kärcher.

After the initial cleanup and assessment, it was clear there was a lot more work to do. We were tasked to clean a further 19km of coastline by the UK Environment Agency. Because of the high TPH values associated with the plastic being involved in a kerosene fire, we took no risks and wore hazmat suits, conducting training in hazardous materials, and equipped ourselves with powered respirators to tackle the pollution.