Operation nurdle: Clamping down on problem plastics
Environment Canterbury media release: 17th July 2024
A round of surprise visits to ensure businesses are preventing ‘plastics pollution’ has seen some pleasing results.
Our staff recently arrived unannounced at 15 Christchurch sites where plastic products were made or handled, to see how they were dealing with nurdles (small beads of waste plastic) and other types of plastic contamination.
Most of the visits were follow-ups, checking on previous recommendations and work done.
Taking action to prevent pollution
Resource Management Officer Leigh Thomas said in general, the team noticed a big improvement in compliance, which she largely attributes to education.
“Most places had taken our messages onboard and were doing a good job of protecting their sumps to ensure nurdles weren’t escaping and ending up in waterways, where they could harm fish and other aquatic life.
“Five of the factories we visited were now using really good practices, and have moved from being on a high to a low priority monitoring list.
One was going above and beyond - working with Plastics New Zealand to have themselves voluntarily audited through Operation Clean Sweep, which was fantastic to see.”
Only one notice of non-compliance (formal recording of what was discussed) was issued for a site that had sumps with no protection.
An Incident Response Officer will work with this operation to help them make the necessary improvements.
Find out more about Operation Clean Sweep from Plastic NZ.
More work to do
Leigh said all of the businesses were receptive to the visits.
“They understand that we need to protect our stormwater system and prevent pollution.”
Further blitzes will be carried out in the near future as part of our ongoing work to raise awareness of nurdles.
If you work for a business that wants to learn more about stormwater protection, or if you’d like to chat with our team, please get in touch by calling 0800 324 636.
