Plastic 'Bio-Beads' From Sewage Plants Are Polluting the Oceans and Spreading Superbugs—but There Are Alternatives

Plastic 'bio-beads' from sewage plants are polluting the oceans and spreading superbugs—but there are alternatives

A recent spill of bio-beads—small plastic pellets used by some wastewater treatment facilities since the 1990s—has brought renewed attention to a problem that has been quietly accumulating in coastal waters for years.

Plastic ‘bio-beads’ from sewage plants are polluting the oceans and spreading superbugs – but there are alternatives

Bio-beads at Colona beach, St Austell Bay in Cornwall. Rob Wells/Cornish Plastic Pollution Coalition, CC BY-NC-NDA recent spill of bio-beads – small plastic pellets used by some wastewater treatment facilities since the 1990s – has brought renewed attention to a problem that has been quietly accumulating in coastal waters for years. Millions of bio-beads recently washed up onto the beach at Camber Sands in East Sussex. But this is not just anoth…

The Race to Remove Plastic Beads from Camber Sands

Chandrayee Raha covers the huge cleanup effort to restore East Sussex's iconic beach after mechanical failure causes huge biobead spill

Plastic 'bio-beads' from sewage plants are polluting the oceans and spreading superbugs—but there are alternatives

A recent spill of bio-beads-small plastic pellets used by some wastewater treatment facilities since the 1990s-has brought renewed attention to a problem that has been quietly accumulating in coastal waters for years.