Know your micro-plastics
Some facts about nurdles and microplastics and where to get more support and advice.
Nurdles
Pre-production plastics the size of a lentil. Used to make all plastic products as they are light, cheap and easy to melt, shape and transport.
Shards
Larger pieces of plastic that break down in the ocean in progressively smaller irregular parts. Shards will eventually become microplastics.
Bio-beads
These little menaces, are actually bio beads not nurdles. They have escaped from a water treatment works. The ridged sides have a greater surface area for bacteria to grow on and help sewage digestion!
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An amazing video describing all about microplastics has been made by Josh @Nurdlecoasts.
How do Nurdles escape?
Nurdles escape in many different places during the prodution process. They escape in the factory, when transferred to vehicles, in transport and in delivery.
Nurdles are often transported in 25kg bags that are easy to transport, but also easy to rip and spill their contents onto roads and in the sea. Spilt nurdles are often hosed or washed into drains, from where they enter the waterways to the sea.
On shipping containers nurdles are often transported at the top as they are light and the cheapest cargo to lose if they fall overboard. Nurdles are pumped loose into containers without packaging.
How Nurdles can escape in transit
Nurdle spills at a factory and on the road.
