Study to quantify
plastic pellet loss
in the UK
Report Briefing

A new study reveals that between
5 and 53 billion plastic pellets,
or nurdles, may be lost to theenvironment each year throughaccidental spillage by the plastics
industry. These estimates of pellet
emissions are the first of their kindin Scotland and the rest of the UK.
The pellets, which can be classed asa primary microplastic1, are found inabundance on beaches around the UK
coastline. With mounting evidence of
their harm to marine ecosystems, thisreport highlights the vast scale of anissue, which, until now, has remained
almost entirely hidden from thepublic eye.
1Cole, M., et al. “Microplastics as contaminants in the marine environment: areview.” Marine pollution bulletin 62.12 (2011): 2588-2597.

image © Nurdle pot (Clare @ Witchcreations)What are nurdles? Every year, 2.5 million tonnes of plastic is produced, and 4.8 million tonnes
processed to create new products in the United Kingdom. The vast majority2 of this plastic starts life in
the form of small pellets known as nurdles. They are generally 3-5mm in diameter, around the size of alentil, and weigh ~20mg each. For example, around 600 nurdles are used to make a small disposable
water bottle.
Nurdles – an environmental pollutant: Tiny and lightweight, nurdles are easily spilled during
handling in all sectors of the industry, from pellet production, transport to final plastics manufacture.
As a result, many find their way into the marine environment through drains and watercourses. Of
similar size and shape to fish eggs, they are often mistaken by marine animals for food and ingested,which can inhibit appetite3. Like other microplastic particles, nurdles are efficient at adsorbing
chemicals known as Persistent Bioaccumulating Toxins (PBTs) to their surface, where they canconcentrate to extreme levels4. It is still unclear whether this combination of effects might increase
toxin accumulation in animals, and up the food chain5.
Study background: The new scoping study was commissioned by Fidra, and conducted by
Eunomia Research and Consulting. It reviews previously published research from other pellet loss
studies from around Europe, incorporating new evidence from interviews with industry to come up
with the first estimates of pellets lost to the environment in the UK and Scotland.
Results: The final estimate suggests that only a tiny proportion (0.001-0.01%) of pellets handled arelikely to be lost. The estimate counts among the most conservative compared to other EU studies6.
Despite this, the huge amount of raw material handled in the UK each year means this still equates tobillions of pellets escaping to the environment. Full results are shown in the table below.

The study suggests that up to 53 billion pellets could be
lost to the wider environment in the UK each year. That’s
the equivalent of 35 full tanker-loads of pellets spilled.

Industry Sector

UK figures

Scotland Figures*

Weight, tonnes(min-max)

No. of pellets,billions (min-max)

Weight, tonnes(min-max)

No. of pellets
billions (min-max)

Production

25 – 250

1.3 – 13

3.8 – 37.5

0.2 – 1.9

Transport+

32 – 320

1.6 – 16

4.8 – 48.0

0.2 – 2.4

Processors

48 – 480

2.4 – 24

7.2 – 72.0

0.4 – 3.6

Waste Management

0–4

0.0 – 0.2

0.0 – 0.6

0.0 – 0.03

TOTAL pellets lost

105 – 1054

5.3 – 53

15.8 – 158.1

0.8 – 7.9

*estimated 15% of total in UK, based on relative proportion of chemicals industry.
+’Transport’ includes losses at other facilities that handle pellets between production and final use (e.g. intermediate storage)

2

Information provided by the British Plastics Federation (BPF)

3

Azzarello and Van Vleet (1987) Marine birds and plastic pollution, Marine Ecology – Progress Series Vol 37: 295-303.

4

Teuten, E.L., et al. (2007). Potential for plastics to transport hydrophobic contaminants. Environmental Science & Technology 41, 7759–7764.

5Rochman et al (2013) Ingested plastic transfers hazardous chemicals to fish and induces hepatic stress. Scientific Reports 3, article number 3263.

6E.g. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency (2015) Microplastics - Occurrence, effects and sources of releases to the environment in Denmark, 2015
- equal estimate of 0.001-0.01%, Mepex (2014) Sources of microplastic pollution to the marine environment, Report for Norwegian Environment Agency,April 2014 – suggests 0.04-0.09% loss. Roland Essel, and et al. (2014) Sources of microplastics relevant to marine protection, Report for Federal Environment Agency (Germany), November 2014 – suggests 0.1-1.0% loss from total production.
image © nurdle-2364 (Clare McIntyre)Data gaps and limitations: Several key gaps in knowledge have been highlighted in this reportdue to a lack of direct data available e.g. 1) location, size and nature of plastics facilities in Scotland
and the UK, 2) Relative loss in different facilities, 3) The number of pellets lost to areas other than thedrains e.g. outdoor spaces, or lost in transport accidents 4) Relative losses of other pre-production
plastic materials, e.g. powders and flakes. The study does not attempt to estimate proportion of lostpellets that reach the sea.
Key Recommendations:• Viewing procedure from an environmental perspective in industry: Health and safety
considerations, and potentially, under some circumstances, the possibility of returning feedstock to
the production process, means the majority of pellets will likely be cleaned up if spilled. However,there are diminishing returns to effort in cleaning up nurdles, which on an individual basis, havelittle value (250 pellets = 1p). An additional environmental perspective is vital to ensure zeropellet pollution.
• Encouraging industry uptake of Operation Clean Sweep® (OCS): An initiative such as OCS
encourages viewing procedures from an environmental perspective. However, sign-up to thescheme remains low across the UK plastics industry.
• Evaluating effectiveness of the OCS scheme: The OCS scheme is currently entirely voluntary
and there is no mechanism for reporting, or enforcement of pellet loss measures. A monitoring
study would ensure that the OCS scheme is an effective solution for reducing plastic pellet
pollution.
• Enforcement: Engaging with government bodies and environment agencies to establish a meansfor enforcing pellet loss reduction could an important next step, especially if OCS sign-ups remain
low and its effectiveness remains unproven.
• Systematic monitoring of pollution: More systematic pellet pollution statistics in the marine
environment are required. The Great Nurdle Hunt online map has been an effective method togather data about pellet pollution hotspots, and could be incorporated into national beach littersurveys to create a more systematic dataset.

What is Operation Clean-Sweep® (OCS)? OCS is an industry-devised scheme thatallows companies to pledge their commitment to reducing pellet loss to zero, supportedby the British Plastics Federation and Plastics Europe. A manual is used as a starting
point for conducting an audit within the company, to highlight high-risk areas wherepellets may be spilled. Companies are then expected to take measures to improve
procedures and ensure zero pellet loss.

image © Firth of Clyde Nurdles, Natalie Welden

Plastic pellets can be spilled at any point of handling in the plastics supply chain, including
production, transport, processing and even plastics recycling.

The full report is available to read online. For further information,please do not hesitate to contact us:
info@fidra.org.uk 		
01620 895677

Fidra: Fidra is a charity based in East Lothian, Scotland. We seek to find ways to engage local concerns over current and emerging
environmental issues, and use this to contribute to wider dialogue at national and international levels, using scientific evidence and bestpractice to establish how best to influence positive environmental change. The Great Nurdle Hunt is Fidra’s first project. It aims to endfurther industrial plastic pellet pollution into the marine environment through a combination of public education, academic research andcorporate engagement. Fidra is a Scottish registered charity and SCIO no.SCO43895.

image © rockpool full of nurdles (Tracey Williams Newquay Beachcombing)