Have you ever heard of a nurdle? Me neither—until I read a
Discovery story that, “Chinese oil major Sinopec on Thursday
offered to help pay to clean up tonnes of plastic pellets that
have fouled Hong Kong beaches since a spill at sea during a
typhoon two weeks ago.” “The pellets, called nurdles, were in
six containers that were washed off a cargo ship during Typhoon
Vicente” and one of the containers is still missing. Although
Sinopec said the nurdles are not believed to be toxic, “Some of
the pellets have been found in the guts of fish farmed in Hong
Kong, sparking concerns about the safety of consuming locally-
produced seafood.” The Guardian reported the Hong Kong
government had also “assured citizens that the white,
polypropylene beads are inert and non-toxic in themselves but
environmentalists say they can absorb pollutants and poison the
food chain.” MORE: Ocean Acidification: The Climate Change
Disaster You Didn’t Know Existed In fact, despite their
supposedly non-toxic nature, the pellets have begun ki