Plastic Nurdle spill – Nurdles still in the environment

During Typhoon Vicente which hit Hong Kong on 23 July 2012 a container ship near Hong Kong lost 7 x 40 foot containers. Six of these containers were each loaded with 1000 x 25 kilogram bags of Plastic Nurdles (pre-production Plastic Pellets). Five of these containers have since been located. All of them had lost some or most of their contents.

These bags and loose Nurdles started washing up on Hong Kong beaches soon afterwards. The majority of Nurdles which washed up on our shores were recovered during a massive volunteer cleanup operation which was initiated immediately after the spill.

Because Typhoon Vicente occurred during a high tide accompanied by a mini storm surge, many loose Nurdles were pushed high up into the rocky shores, coastal undergrowth and seawalls in Hong Kong.

These will slowly be flushed out of these locations by rainstorms, high tides and tropical storms and continue to wash up on our beaches in ever decreasing numbers for many months to come.

The following photographs were taken on 6 September 2012 to illustrate the problem.

Sea wall at Nim Shue Wan, Discovery Bay.

Nurdles trapped high in the sea wall at Nim Shue Wan.

Rocks on shoreline at Nim Shue Wan.

Nurdles trapped high in rocks on shoreline at Nim Shue Wan.

Rocks on shoreline at Sam Pak Wan, Discovery Bay.

Nurdles trapped in rocks on shoreline at Sam Pak Wan.

Rocky coastline at Sam Pak Wan.

Pockets of Nurdles at top of high tide line on rocky coastline at Sam Pak Wan.

Plastic Nurdle spill – Missing container

During Typhoon Vicente which hit Hong Kong on 23 July 2012 a container ship near Hong Kong lost 7 x 40 foot containers. Six of these containers were each loaded with 1000 x 25 kilogram bags of Plastic Nurdles (pre-production Plastic Pellets). Five of these containers have since been located, but one is still missing.

During Typhoon Kai Tak which hit Hong Kong on 16 August 2012, 80 full bags of Nurdles and many loose Nurdles washed up on beaches and shores from Mui Wo to Chi Ma Wan. See the photographs below of bags of Nurdles which washed ashore near Shap Long on Chi Ma Wan peninsula (Courtesy of Merrin Pearse at Coordinate4U). This suggests the missing container is possibly on the seabed in the vicinity of Hei Ling Chau. Searches have failed to find it.

If the container still contains part of its cargo, it is possible that full bags and loose Nurdles will leak from the container during future storm events, and these will wash up in the Mui Wo to Chi Ma Wan area. On the other hand, it could be empty by now, in which case there will be no future spills of bags or Nurdles. Irrespective of the containers status, the infrastructure is now in place to quickly and effectively respond to such a spill should it occur.

Bags of Nurdles washed ashore at Chi Ma Wan during Typhoon Kai Tak.

Plastic Nurdle spill – Understanding the science

To understand the science of plastic pellets, the following research papers at Algalita.org give an idea of some of the issues surrounding plastic pellets in the environment, particularly their impact on marine and bird life:

http://www.algalita.org/research/ResearchPapersArchive.html

Also, watch the following YouTube video to see some of the concerns of, and actions taken by the US Government on plastic pellets:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh7CBHxt_Xw

Plastic Nurdle spill – FEHD plastic pellet collection points

On many beaches, FEHD have set up plastic pellet collection points. If you see one of these signs, can you please leave any bags with collected pellets, or other rubbish next to the sign. This will make it easier for FEHD to remove rubbish which has been collected during the cleanups. Please see the photographs below:

Plastic Nurdle spill - Hei Ling Chau, Hong Kong.

The following photographs show potential sites where Plastic Nurdles could have floated ashore on Hei Ling Chau, Hong Kong. This island has restricted access because of the Correctional Services facility which is on the island, so please do not go to this beach:

Plastic Nurdle spill – Video of Peng Chau

The following video shows the main beaches on Peng Chau, (near Discovery Bay), all of which have varying degrees of Nurdles – please note, Tung Wan main beach is under a No-fly zone – it also has Nurdles:

Video of Peng Chau (near Discovery Bay)

http://vimeo.com/47245626

Plastic Nurdle spill – Map of Peng Chau

The following map shows the main beaches on Peng Chau, (near Discovery Bay), all of which have varying degrees of Nurdles. Please note, the main beach on Peng Chau - Tung Wan is a no-fly zone - it also has Nurdles.

Map of Peng Chau showing the beach locations.

Plastic Nurdle spill – Video of Chi Ma Wan peninsula

The following video shows the main beaches on the Chi Ma Wan peninsula, all of which have varying degrees of Nurdles, as well as the coastal footpath which connects them. Some of the beaches are only accessible by boat. If you go by boat and see the beach already has a cleanup crew in action, can you try to chose an empty beach.

The following are named beaches:

1. Tai Long Wan

2. Ha Keng

9. Cheung Sha Wan

12. Shap Long

Please check out the video at the following link:

http://vimeo.com/47258448

Plastic Nurdle spill – Chi Ma Wan peninsula

The following graphic shows the main beaches on the Chi Ma Wan peninsula, all of which have varying degrees of Nurdles. Some of the beaches are only accessible by boat. If you go by boat and see a beach already has a cleanup crew in action, can you try to chose an empty beach.

The following are named beaches:

1. Tai Long Wan

2. Ha Keng

9. Cheung Sha Wan

12. Shap Long

Map of Chi Ma Wan peninsula showing the beach locations

Plastic Nurdle spill – Hong Kong – Cleanup sectors.

To better coordinate the cleanup of the spill of Plastic Nurdles, and try to ensure no effort is duplicated or wasted, Hong Kong has been divided up into different sectors, with an NGO or Green Group responsible for the monitoring and cleanup of their own area.

The groups will try to post information of cleanups on their own websites, with a link to the “Plastic Disaster – Hong Kong” Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/PlasticDisasterHongKong?filter=1

Volunteers can go to any cleanups they want to, but we will try to highlight hotspots for urgent action. See the map below:

Plastic Nurdle spill – Hong Kong – location map showing where the containers were found.

This map shows the locations of where the missing containers were recovered, together with details of the completeness of their loads.

It is now apparent that the large spill at Tung O Wan on Lamma came from the container found in the north of the bay (INKH 6293926). A door of this container was located in the sea next to the spill.

This now gives a clearer picture of  where resources should be deployed to locate remaining Nurdle hotspots (Courtesy: Gary Stokes).

Plastic Nurdle Spill – Trawling for Nurdles on 7 August 2012

The following photographs show the results of spending 10 minutes trawling for Nurdles through small debris patches on the surface of the sea in Nim Shue Wan Bay, Lantau on 7 August 2012 using a Koi net deployed from a sampan (the mesh of the Koi net is small enough to catch Nurdles). No visible sea life was caught during this trawl.

Debris patch on surface of the sea.

Nurdles floating in debris patch.

Koi net

Koi net deployed from very slow moving sampan.

 Nurdles and other debris collected after 10 minutes.

Plastic Nurdle spill – Adopt a beach – become a beach guardian.

Hong Kong desperately needs your help to identify beaches with Plastic Nurdles and also beaches that have no Nurdles, so that resources can be sent to beaches that need help.

When you visit a beach, if you see any Nurdles, can you please take some photographs and post them on the “Plastic Disaster – Hong Kong” Facebook page (see link below), together with the location of the beach and an estimate of how big the problem is. Also check the beach for any bags of Nurdles and if you find any, move the bag to above the high tide line and again, please post photographs on the Facebook page.

Adopt a beach - become a beach guardian

If you live near a beach, can you become responsible for reporting any Nurdle sightings at that beach and also for organizing cleanups at the beach – adopt the beach and become a beach guardian – just please keep “Plastic Disaster – Hong Kong” informed of what you are doing by posting on their Facebook page.  

Plastic Disaster - Hong Kong

http://www.facebook.com/PlasticDisasterHongKong

Plastic Nurdle spill – Nurdles at Tung O Bay, Lamma Island, Hong Kong on 1 August 2012.

The following photographs are of Plastic Nurdles found on 1 August 2012 at Tung O Bay, Lamma Island, Hong Kong (Courtesy: Gary Stokes and Tracey Read). The Nurdles came from one of six containers containing Nurdles which were lost from a container ship during Typhoon Vicente:

Plastic Nurdle spill – container at Beaufort Island, Hong Kong on 31 July 2012.

The following photographs are of a container which had been carrying 1000 x 25 kilogram bags of Nurdles, with its spilled contents, found on 31 July 2012 at Beaufort Island, Hong Kong (Courtesy: Tracey Read). The container was lost from a container ship during Typhoon Vicente:

The white objects along the shoreline in the photograph below are loose spilled Nurdles.

Plastic Nurdles – Cheung Sha Lan Beach, Lantau, Hong Kong on 2 August 2012

The following photographs show Plastic Nurdles found at Cheung Sha Lan Beach, Lantau, Hong Kong on 2 August 2012:

Six full bags and two empty bags of Plastic Nurdles - this is a sandy beach and the bags are still intact 10 days after Typhoon Vicente.

The bags stacked and awaiting collection by FEHD.

One full bag and one empty bag on a footpath next to the shore (as found).

Plastic Nurdles from the broken bags, along the high tide line at Cheung Sha Lan beach.