West Norfolk Council begins beach clean between Holme and Old Hunstanton following tanker collision in North Sea

West Norfolk Council began a beach clean operation yesterday following the tanker collision in the North Sea.

Plastic nurdles have washed up on the West Norfolk coastline this week, with the authority’s team starting with collecting plastic pollution along an initial stretch between Holme-next-the-Sea towards Old Hunstanton.

Having removed smaller deposits, and assessed the situation, an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) will be used later today to access the beach and remove the larger ones. All of the plastic has been pushed back so it does not wash back out to sea in the meantime.

Work involves a team of one ‘beachmaster’ and seven operational council staff, using litter-pickers, a tractor and skip.

The council is focusing initially on removing the larger burnt pieces of plastic from the beaches, while HM Coastguard has been removing suspended nurdles from the water.

The borough council is also liaising with partners, including wildlife organisations, to identify the best way to remove as many of the smaller plastic nurdles from beaches as practically possible while minimising the impact on the environment.

The team will move from beach to beach to clear up as much of the waste as possible from local beaches, with nurdles also spotted at the likes of Brancaster.

“Please bear with us as this clean-up operation will likely take a few weeks and further waste might wash up during that time,” a council spokesperson said.

Cllr Sandra Squire, cabinet member for environment and coastal, said: “Our priority as a council is to clean up this plastic pollution from our beaches for people and wildlife.

“We ask that residents and visitors who are enjoying our beaches continue to take care with anything that you come across on the beach.

“Our clean-up team are wearing gloves and using litter pickers as a reasonable precaution because they’re handling waste.

“Nurdles are not toxic, but they can present a risk to wildlife if ingested. Please keep dogs on leads for now. Don’t touch any nurdles you find.

“We are doing regular beach surveys of the beaches in our area to identify areas that need cleaning.”