Government harmonises unusual categories of public beaches ‘discs’ fade: ‘Thousands are an understatement’
Government agencies in Wales have reported finding thousands of unidentified plastic discs washed up on many beaches. After investigating, they found the source to be a wastewater treatment plant.
What’s going on?
According to the BBC, the beaches noticed small discs on the beaches of Swansea, Swansea, Gower, and Neath Port Talbot, the city’s democratic service.
Welsh Water, a Poprofit Water and Sewerage Company operating in Wales and parts of England, reported that discs – used in wastewater treatment – were accidentally released from their treatment following a power outage.
It means that steps are being taken to prevent a similar event in the future, and natural resources, the government agency responsible for managing land and water, is investigating the incident.
Residents found an incomparable number of rolled discs in the sea and other debris, and noted that most would be removed.
“Thousands are unheard of. They’re completely disrupting the main beach line,” local resident Cyoe Stacey, who found a large number of them on Swansea Beach, told the BBC.
Why is plastic waste relevant?
The discs are said to be about 23 millimeters in diameter, which means the sea creatures can easily burst them if they make a mistake with food. In addition, since many were tied up with debris, the cleaning crews ignored some of them.
As the discs decay, they can create harmful chemicals in the water and the surrounding beach ecosystem.
According to a separate report from the BBC, plastic waste is already a big problem in Wales, and the city council is spending about $1.1 million to clean up more than 275 tons.
A 2021 survey by the Marine Conselition Soction found that plastic and polystyrene pieces made up more than 80% of all bilge floats. Environmental groups attribute the increase in waste to high consumption of food and drink in the past few years.
While the recent incident with plastic discs was not caused by inappropriate littering, it still contributes to the debris load on Wales’ beaches and presents public health and environmental risks.
What does welsh water do to prevent further pollution?
Welsh Water did not reveal details of its preventive measures. Environment Services Wales continues to monitor beaches across the country to look for more plastic discs that can wash up. Neath Port Talbot town council has also sent cleaning crews to remove discs from its beaches.
“Many of these discs have been removed from Gower beaches and our staff and volunteers make regular visits to collect other finds,” said a statement to the Wales Democracy Report Service.
If you live in Wales and come across any plastic discs in the sea, report them to local authorities and consider volunteering with clean-up groups to help the ecosystem recover.
Join our free newsletter for Good News and Helpful tipsand don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
