Tiny Plastic Pellets Pollute Landscapes Worldwide, Posing Cleanup Challenge

As of November 10th, 2025, the issue of tiny plastic pellets, known as "nurdles," polluting landscapes worldwide has become a growing concern. These pellets, no bigger than a lentil, are produced by petrochemical giants and destined to be melted down for various products. However, when tens of millions of them spill from trucks or cargo ships, they are incredibly difficult to clean up, blighting landscapes and washing up around the world for years to come.

The European Parliament is currently considering tougher new rules aimed at preventing such disastrous nurdle spills and reducing their pollution impact. If approved, the regulations would require companies in the European Union to adopt safeguards in handling and transporting these tiny plastic pellets. According to the European Commission, between 52,140 and 184,290 tonnes of nurdles entered the environment in the EU in 2019 alone, equivalent to 2,100 to 7,300 trucks full of pellets per year.

Recovering these light, buoyant, and insoluble nurdles is a physically intense and time-consuming task, mostly done by hand. Experts warn that it is virtually impossible to recover all the pellets once they have been scattered in nature. Nurdle spills have had devastating effects on marine life, tourism, and fishing, with one of the worst incidents occurring off the coast of Sri Lanka in 2021.

As the world continues to grapple with the ubiquity of plastic in modern life, the scourge of nurdles has become a stark reminder of the need for more effective solutions to combat plastic pollution.