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 […]
06 Jan 2026
Scientists have for the first time recorded and measured the real-time movement of microplastics through the digestive systems of tiny marine organisms, revealing their critical role in transporting plastic pollution from the surface to the deep sea. The study, led by researchers at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) and the Oceanographic Centre of the […]
25 Nov 2025
Photo by Annie Spratt Plastic bio-bead pollution from a Southern Water treatment works failure has now been found in the sensitive saltmarsh habitat at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, approximately two miles south-west of Camber Sands where millions of the pellets first washed ashore in early November. Sussex Wildlife Trust confirmed on 14 November that monitoring had […]
04 Nov 2025
Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen Plastic pollution in the ocean could remain on the water’s surface for more than a century, even if no more floating plastic was dumped in the ocean, according to new research from scientists at HR Wallingford and Queen Mary University of London. The study, published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal […]
19 Aug 2025
Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen Global negotiations to forge the world’s first legally binding treaty to tackle plastic pollution have collapsed for the second time in eight months, as countries remain fundamentally divided over whether to limit plastic production or focus solely on waste management solutions. The sixth round of talks under the Intergovernmental […]
12 Aug 2025
Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen High-stakes negotiations resumed in Geneva on 5th August for a legally binding global treaty to tackle plastic pollution, with delegates from 175 countries attempting to finalise an agreement that has eluded negotiators for nearly three years. The resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2), scheduled to run […]
