The Marine Minister has visited Port of Tyne after criticism of the government and Environment Agency’s response to the plastic pollution clean-up.
On 19 July, a vessel collided with a berthed container ship, damaging at least two shipping containers of plastic pellets and releasing an estimated 17 tonnes into the environment.
During the visit, Stephen Morgan met representatives from the Port, local authorities, the Environment Agency and other organisations involved in the clean-up operation.
Joined by Environment Agency Chair Alan Lovell, the Minister heard directly from the team at the Port of Tyne and discussed actions being taken to protect the environment and restore impacted coastal areas.
Labour mayor Kim McGuinness has been critical of the government and Environment Agency’s response to the incident.
She said that the response from the Environment Agency ‘simply has not been good enough’ and the official response was not ‘what we would expect’.
The Environment Agency told the BBC it has been ‘actively involved’ in the clean-up operation from the outset and is ‘working closely’ with local authorities, the Port of Tyne, and other groups.
The Marine Minister Stephen Morgan said the government and the Environment Agency have been working closely with local partners since the pollution happened.
Visiting Littlehaven Beach, the Minister met with community groups and volunteers involved in the recovery efforts and thanked them for their continued work to clear impacted beaches.
“People in the North East rightly expect a strong, coordinated response to this incident,” Morgan said.
“The government and the Environment Agency are assisting local partners, such as the Port of Tyne, in any way we can, including deploying additional boats, monitoring, providing resources from elsewhere in the country and holding the plastics industry to account.”
Morgan also thanked volunteers on the ground, who are spending their time clearing the beaches and said he recognised the work of local leaders.
On 7 August, Morgan led a call alongside Ports Minister Keir Mather with key partners, elected mayors and lead responding organisations where they discussed recovery progress and identified areas where government support could assist local efforts.
As part of the clean-up, the Environment Agency is using drone surveys, vessels and specialist response teams for monitoring and to support targeted recovery operations.
The government also committed to working to strengthen protections around the transportation of plastic pellets, such as nurdles, and reduce the risk of similar incidents occurring in future.
