Plastic Resin Pellets

Plastic Resin Pellets

Plastic resin pellets also known as pre production plastic or nurdles are the raw material which is heated and chemically treated to mould plastic goods. Huge volumes of plastic resin pellets are produced and shipped around the world each year. An alarming number of these pellets are constantly being lost to the marine environment both from direct cargo loss at sea and from spillage around factories and transport routes on land. A large proportion of these land spillages eventually find their way into drainage systems and out to sea. At sea pellets are circulated throughout the world’s oceans.

Plastic Resin Pellets are being found on beaches all over the world. Being extrememly small and resembling fish eggs, they have the potential to be ingested by marine animals and seabirds in enormous numbers. The Pellet Alert Project invites volunteers to monitor and report occurances of Plastic Resin Pellets on their coastline, we also receive samples of pellets which are sent on for analsysis of toxins that the pellets may have absorbed while in the ocean environment.

Finding Plastic Resin Pellets

Heidi

Plastic resin pellets are not readily observed or found. First they are very small and look very much like similar sized natural debris on the beach such as shell, pumice grains, sargassum floats and large grains of quartz. They are opaque and blend into the sandy background. Pellets can also appear seasonally, showing up for example on the West coast of West Australia after the first cold fronts in winter and slowly disappearing in late spring as the beach conditions change. Equally they are not an every day object and to observe them you need to tune in to their appearance.
Season’s for Marine Debris

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Persistent Organic Pollutants on Plastic Resin Pellets from Foul Bay Western Australia

Heidi

Plastic resin pellets collected at Foul Bay Western Australia in August 2007 have been tested for sorbed persistent organic pollutants. The tests were carried out at the University of Agriculture and Technology in Tokyo, Japan as part of the International Pellet Watch programme (1) which aims to use beached resin pellets as a means for monitoring the global distribution of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). These are long lasting carbon containing chemicals circulating in all major ecosystems and come from both manmade and natural sources.

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Survey of Plastic Resin Pellets between Cape Leeuwin and Burns Beach Western Australia

Heidi

Plastic resin pellets make a seasonal appearance on South West Australian beaches, showing up in autumn, increasing in numbers during winter and largely disappearing from sight in summer. In 2007 pellets were surveyed between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin and this gave a regional picture of the types and condition of pellets and their distribution. The 2008 surveys aim to widen this survey to include the Perth metropolitan area. Accordingly, a survey targeting plastic resin pellets was carried out between Quarry Bay at the South West tip of Western Australia and Burns beach on the Northern fringe of the Perth metropolitan area covering a coastal stretch in excess of 300 km. This survey was conducted between April and June 2008.

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