02 Jun 2026
Photo by Jacob Fryer Standing in a harbourmaster’s office on the Danish island of Bornholm, Tom Nielsen surveys walls lined with sepia photographs of a busier era. “We used to have 55 boats at one time, and now we have one left,” he told BBC Future. “You could walk across the harbour from one fishing […]
17 Mar 2026
Photo by Soren Funk A year after millions of plastic pellets washed ashore on the coasts of Norfolk and Lincolnshire, clean-up teams are still working – and the full environmental impact on one of Britain’s most protected coastal ecosystems remains unclear. On 10 March 2025, the cargo ship Solong ploughed into the anchored oil tanker […]
24 Feb 2026
Photo by Jay Alexander New data from a national survey of British coastal waters has found average microplastic concentrations of 59 particles per cubic metre of seawater, more than double the levels recorded in comparable surveys in 2022 and 2023, which found averages of 23 and 20 MP/m³ respectively. The highest single reading, 418 […]
13 Jan 2026
Photo by Chris Mitchell A pollution incident involving millions of plastic bio-beads washing ashore on Sussex beaches has been upgraded to the most serious Category 1 classification by the Environment Agency. The move means Southern Water could face the most severe set of sanctions following investigation into the incident. The micro-beads were accidentally released […]
02 Dec 2025
Photo by Gustavo Quepóns The UK Government published its revised Environmental Improvement Plan on 1 December 2025, setting out a roadmap for restoring England’s environment through ten long-term goals covering restored nature, air, water, chemicals and pesticides, waste, resources, climate change, environmental hazards, biosecurity and access to nature. The cross-government plan commits to “cleaning up our rivers, lakes […]
02 Dec 2025
Photo by Maja Bertolt Jensen The European Union has agreed the world’s first limits on seafloor litter, marking a significant step towards reducing marine pollution in a move endorsed by EU marine directors on 27-28 November. Under the new rules, no more than one item per 1,000 square metres will be permitted in areas under visual […]
11 Nov 2025
Photo by Chris Mitchell Southern Water is investigating after millions of contaminated plastic beads washed up on Camber Sands beach, risking an “environmental catastrophe”, according to the local MP. The biobeads could have a dire impact on marine life, with fears rare sea life, including seabirds, porpoises and seals, could ingest them and die. […]
02 Sep 2025
Photo by Liam McGrath Environmental campaigners are warning of a potential “catastrophic disaster” as plans emerge to dump 850,000 tonnes of contaminated sediment at sea as part of a £150 million redevelopment of Cornwall’s Falmouth Docks. £150 million development at environmental cost Falmouth Docks and Engineering Company and A&P Falmouth have applied for planning permission […]
