MP submits petition to ban plastic bio-beads

2 hours ago

Fiona Irving,South Eastand

Vicky Castle,South East

News image — Campaigners gathered with symbolic "beads" during a protest calling for an end to plastic biobeads in wastewater treatment

Helena Dollimore A large group of people stand outdoors on a coastal landscape under an overcast sky holding protest placards and banners with messages including “STOP USING BIO BEADS”, “Protect our Birds”, “Nature Rules OK”, and “No Beads”, while several oversized black spheres behind the group spell out “BIN THE BEADS” in white lettering. — Campaigners gathered with symbolic "beads" during a protest calling for an end to plastic biobeads in wastewater treatment

An MP has handed a 10,000-signature petition in to Downing Street calling for a ban on plastic "bio-bead" use in wastewater treatment.

The move, by Hastings and Rye Labour MP Helena Dollimore, follows a major spill at a Southern Water site in October, after which millions of pellets washed up in Camber Sands and Rye Harbour Nature Reserve - and later, as far as St Mary's Bay.

Clean-up teams have said more than half the estimated spill, which poses a threat to wildlife, could still remain on beaches nearly seven months on.

Southern Water said it would welcome a ban but warned it would have "significant cost and engineering consequences" and would require government and regulator support.

Helena Dollimore Helena Dollimore, MP for Hastings and Rye - a woman wearing a red jacket stands outside parliament carrying a poster which reads "petition, bin the beads" — Helena Dollimore, MP for Hastings and Rye, has campaigned for the water companies to "Bin the Beads"

Joshua Beech, founder of Nurdle, which is leading parts of the clean-up, told BBC South East about 1.8 tonnes of bio-beads had been recovered from an estimated 4.5-tonne spill.

They are still collecting thousands of beads each day nearly seven months after the incident, he added.

Beech said the aim was to remove as much plastic as possible but warned completing the task was "going to be hard".

"No-one has ever successfully managed to clean this stuff up before and we're trying our best to gather up as much as humanly possible."

He said the project could take years as it moved from large-scale clearance to a more targeted approach.

"We are definitely going to get up to the higher percentiles but whether we can get every bead or not is a different matter," he added.

Strandliners People on a sandy beach at Camber clearing up debris with the sea and buildings in the background. — Volunteers were involved in the clear-up operation at Camber

Campaigners say the beads risk harming wildlife if ingested and could also break down into microplastics and enter the food chain.

Scientists have found the beads contain heavy metals, including lead and arsenic, which could be toxic to wildlife.

The Environment Agency (EA) classified the incident as category one in January, meaning it had a major environmental impact.

Volunteers had joined more than 850 Southern Water staff and contractors in the initial clean-up.

Southern Water said about 150 million beads had been released.

Strandliners Close up image of lots of black plastic pellet on a beach. — Millions of plastic pellets washed ashore in East Sussex and Kent

The petition calls on the government to work with water companies and regulators to phase out plastic bio-beads.

Sussex Wildlife Trust and the MP say the technology is outdated and alternatives are available.

Dollimore said: "We're saying to Southern Water and to all the water companies using them - think again.

"Better, more modern technology exists, you don't need to be using these beads and this catastrophe has shown us the risks that it poses to our environment."

Southern Water said measures, including the use of AI, were being introduced to prevent future incidents.

John Penicud, managing director of wastewater at the company, said: "Any pollution is unacceptable and we're really sorry for the impact this has had."

He said only five of the company's 367 treatment works still use bio-beads and the firm would fund the clean-up for "as long as it takes".

An EA spokesperson said: "This is an active investigation, and we will not hesitate to take robust enforcement action where appropriate."

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