Millions of plastic pellets are spreading across Spain's northern coast
A so-called 'white tide' of plastic pellets are washing up on the shores of Galicia and Asturias, polluting beaches and causing a political blame game between national and regional governments.
Since mid-December, millions of microplastic pellets have washed up on the coast of northern Spain. These pellets have mainly affected beaches in dozens of municipalities of the Galicia region, but are now also washing up on the shores of neighbouring Asturias.
Dubbed a "white tide" by the Spanish press, the millions of tiny pellets came from a merchant ship flying under the Liberian flag that was carrying the microplastics and lost up to six containers in nearby Portuguese waters.
The pellets first washed up on the coast of Galicia and are now spreading along the coast to other northern regions. The areas of Galicia affected so far are A Illa de Arousa, Ribeira, Noia, Muros, Carnota, A Coruña, Burela and Foz, among others.
Cuantos no gallegos de twitter habéis oído hablar de los sacos de pellets de plástico que están inundando las playas gallegas por la caída de varios contenedores de un carguero al mar a mediados de diciembre?
Nunca mais y al final volvió a ocurrir...
Dadle visibilidad porfavor pic.twitter.com/hoqGSZyseB
— Manataphy (@Manata_devil) January 7, 2024
Pellets are microplastics smaller than 5 millimetres used in the manufacture of plastic products such as bottles, containers or bags.
READ ALSO: Spain's Galicia struggles with mass shellfish die-off
In Asturias, where pellets have also been detected on some beaches, the regional government has activated an anti-pollution plan. Yet in Galicia, where the majority of the pollution has been so far, responsibility for the clean-up operations have been left to teams of volunteers. In recent days, over 400 volunteers took to the beaches along the coastline to try and clean up the pellets.
The clean-up operation, as well as when exactly the authorities were made aware of the microplastic pollution, has threatened to cause something of a political blame game between the Xunta de Galicia and national government.
Organízate e axuda, Galicia precisa de nós! #pellets #Galicia #nuncamais pic.twitter.com/rDuutNiC1e
— Xurxo Doval Blanco🤍💙 (@xurxodb) January 7, 2024
With regional elections scheduled in Galicia in little over a month, the issue has taken on a heightened political dimension. The Xunta claims it did not receive official notification about the pellets until January 3rd, while the government says it was sent to the Galician coastguard three weeks earlier.
Alfonso Rueda, President of Galicia and the Partido Popular (PP) candidate seeking re-election in the coming weeks, has lambasted the government for a lack of data and accused his opponents of politicising the issue for electoral gain by "going into election mode" from "the first moment" and making a "blatant campaign" issue of an environmental problem.
On January 8th, the environmental unit of Spain's prosecutor's office opened proceedings to investigate what happened. According to the prosecutor's statement, reported in Spanish daily El País, the pellets "contribute to microplastic pollution" and the materials "show signs of toxicity" and "are not biodegradable."
The document also points to possible criminality, specifically Article 325 of Spain's Criminal Code which outlines that "anyone who directly or indirectly causes or carries out emissions, discharges... into land, ground or sea waters, including the high seas, shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years.”
READ ASO: Spain's 'Prestige' - The worst-ever oil spill in Europe 'could happen again'
Comments
See Also
Since mid-December, millions of microplastic pellets have washed up on the coast of northern Spain. These pellets have mainly affected beaches in dozens of municipalities of the Galicia region, but are now also washing up on the shores of neighbouring Asturias.
Dubbed a "white tide" by the Spanish press, the millions of tiny pellets came from a merchant ship flying under the Liberian flag that was carrying the microplastics and lost up to six containers in nearby Portuguese waters.
The pellets first washed up on the coast of Galicia and are now spreading along the coast to other northern regions. The areas of Galicia affected so far are A Illa de Arousa, Ribeira, Noia, Muros, Carnota, A Coruña, Burela and Foz, among others.
Cuantos no gallegos de twitter habéis oído hablar de los sacos de pellets de plástico que están inundando las playas gallegas por la caída de varios contenedores de un carguero al mar a mediados de diciembre?
— Manataphy (@Manata_devil) January 7, 2024
Nunca mais y al final volvió a ocurrir...
Dadle visibilidad porfavor pic.twitter.com/hoqGSZyseB
Pellets are microplastics smaller than 5 millimetres used in the manufacture of plastic products such as bottles, containers or bags.
READ ALSO: Spain's Galicia struggles with mass shellfish die-off
In Asturias, where pellets have also been detected on some beaches, the regional government has activated an anti-pollution plan. Yet in Galicia, where the majority of the pollution has been so far, responsibility for the clean-up operations have been left to teams of volunteers. In recent days, over 400 volunteers took to the beaches along the coastline to try and clean up the pellets.
The clean-up operation, as well as when exactly the authorities were made aware of the microplastic pollution, has threatened to cause something of a political blame game between the Xunta de Galicia and national government.
Organízate e axuda, Galicia precisa de nós! #pellets #Galicia #nuncamais pic.twitter.com/rDuutNiC1e
— Xurxo Doval Blanco🤍💙 (@xurxodb) January 7, 2024
With regional elections scheduled in Galicia in little over a month, the issue has taken on a heightened political dimension. The Xunta claims it did not receive official notification about the pellets until January 3rd, while the government says it was sent to the Galician coastguard three weeks earlier.
Alfonso Rueda, President of Galicia and the Partido Popular (PP) candidate seeking re-election in the coming weeks, has lambasted the government for a lack of data and accused his opponents of politicising the issue for electoral gain by "going into election mode" from "the first moment" and making a "blatant campaign" issue of an environmental problem.
On January 8th, the environmental unit of Spain's prosecutor's office opened proceedings to investigate what happened. According to the prosecutor's statement, reported in Spanish daily El País, the pellets "contribute to microplastic pollution" and the materials "show signs of toxicity" and "are not biodegradable."
The document also points to possible criminality, specifically Article 325 of Spain's Criminal Code which outlines that "anyone who directly or indirectly causes or carries out emissions, discharges... into land, ground or sea waters, including the high seas, shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years.”
READ ASO: Spain's 'Prestige' - The worst-ever oil spill in Europe 'could happen again'
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.