This session focuses on the problem of microplastics.
Nurdles are tiny plastic pellets used to make most of our plastic products. Unfortunately, spillages and mishandling by industry mean that nurdles easily escape and get washed into the sea. It is estimated that 53 billion nurdles escape into the UK environment each year!
Why is this bad?
Due to their tiny size, nurdles are mistaken as prey and eaten by marine wildlife and they move up the food chain. Unfortunately, nurdles also act as sponges in the sea, attracting pollutants. This means nurdles become packed with toxins and become even more harmful to wildlife. One further problem is that nurdles do not break down over time. They simply break into smaller and smaller pieces. This means nurdles are becoming more and more widespread in our oceans.
What are biobeads?
We also find a lot of biobeads by the river at Charmouth. Biobeads are tiny plastic pellets used at some wastewater treatment plants as part of the filtration process. Their small size means they can escape into the environment. Biobeads have a more wrinkled surface and tend to have more irregular shapes compared to nurdles. We want to pick these up too as they have a similar harmful effect on wildlife.
- Session Time: 1.5 hours
- Location: Charmouth
- Maximum children: 35 children
- Charges: £75 (£50 for shorter 1 hour session)
- Children to bring along gloves, all other equipment is provided.
- Risk assessment can be found in our Teachers’ Guide section: https://charmouth.org/chcc/teachers-guide/
To book your session please contact us here: https://charmouth.org/chcc/contact/