Grace O'Sullivan with some of the plastic pellets she found on the beach in GaliciaAn ecological disaster is unfolding on the beaches of north-west Spain as a billion plastic pellets lost overboard from a container ship begin washing ashore. A political row has erupted around the incident, which happened just weeks after the European Commission proposed tighter regulation on the transportation of plastic pellets. One container held 1,000 25kg sacks of new white plastic pellets, destined to be melted down and moulded into water bottles and other food containers. “They have to be so careful,” said Ms O’Sullivan, who visited some of the beaches that make up Galicia’s 1,900km of coastline. Last October, the European Commission proposed regulations for companies using and transporting plastic pellets, requiring stronger containers and stricter monitoring and reporting obligations.

Source: Irish Independent January 22, 2024 14:25 UTC