How to clean nurdles

When you stop for a brew, break, or to head home, hand hygiene really matters. Hand gel is handy in many situations, but on its own it is not enough for this kind of clean-up. Good old-fashioned soap and clean running water are still the best option because they actually lift away sand, silt, tiny plastic fragments, grease, oils and germs. If you can, use the beach facilities, clean tap water and soap, and wash your hands properly before eating, drinking, smoking, touching your face, or leaving the site.

It removes dirt and silt: Soap and running water physically lift and rinse away sand, mud, tiny plastic fragments and contamination. Hand gel cannot do that.

Soap is king:

• It helps break down residues: Soap is better at dealing with grease, oils and fuel-type residues that may be present in a commercial river environment.
• It gives germs less chance to stay put: The rubbing and rinsing action helps remove microorganisms from your hands, including from around nails and small creases in the skin.

Volunteer guidance: Collecting nurdles with minimal impact

When collecting nurdles, please help minimise disturbance to wildlife and coastal habitats by following these guidelines:

• Keep disturbance to a minimum. Take a common-sense approach and avoid unnecessary trampling or habitat damage while searching.
• Leave as much seaweed in place as possible. Searching for nurdles in and around seaweed is often necessary but avoid removing large amounts of drift seaweed, as it provides important habitat and food for wildlife.
• Avoid pulling seaweed growing on rocky shores.
• If you move rocks, always return them to their original position.
• Avoid standing on biogenic reefs or other sensitive habitats (e.g. mussel beds, barnacles etc).
• If collecting on rocky shores, avoid repeated visits to the same area. Where possible, concentrate efforts over a day or two before allowing the site to recover from trampling and disturbance.
• Avoid disturbing birds and other wildlife. Some temporary disturbance is unavoidable, but please keep it to the minimum necessary while collecting.
• Avoid collecting nurdles at seal haul-out sites at all costs (e.g. St Mary’s lighthouse). Specific permission and guidance must be provided by organisations such as Natural England.
• Shallow digging in sandy beaches (around 10 cm) is acceptable. Sandy beaches are mobile sediment habitats, meaning they move at every tide and storm. Digging shallow holes to reach buried nurdles should not cause significant environmental harm, particularly in dry sand. There should not be a need to dig deeply or excavate large areas, as nurdles are unlikely to be buried very deep at this stage. Please use common sense, avoid unnecessary excavation, and replace the sand you remove to restore the area as much as possible.