Against the flow: where did the Tyne's nurdles go?
On 19 July 2026 a vessel collision at the Port of Tyne released around 17 tonnes of plastic pellets into the river. We are studying how the tide carried them upstream, where they are now trapped, and how they are changing.
A rare natural experiment
The spill happened just before low water. A 4.62 m high tide followed, with a north-easterly wind blowing up the estuary and river flows lower than on all but 6% of days in the last 70 years. These conditions favoured pellets being pushed upstream rather than out to sea.
Because the source, timing and type of pellet are all known, the spill gives a rare chance to measure how microplastic moves, settles and is picked up again in a tidal river. That chance is time-limited. Spring tides, higher river flows, burial, biofouling and clean-up are gradually erasing the evidence.
What we are investigating
How far upstream?
Establish the upstream limit and spatial pattern of pellet deposition along the tidal river.
Moving with the tide
Measure how many pellets travel upstream on the flood tide and downstream on the ebb.
What controls it?
Use 3D computer models of the river to find what makes pellets spread, settle and get trapped.
How do they change?
Track how the pellets break down, become coated in organisms and pick up metals over time.
Seen nurdles on the Tyne? Tell us.
Photos and videos from people who live, work and walk along the river are valuable evidence. They show us where pellets have reached and when.
- Take a photo or video
Get close enough to see the pellets, and ideally include something for scale such as a coin. - Note where and when
A place name, map pin or the location stored in your photo, plus the date. - Send it to us
Upload it securely. You choose what we can do with it.
Working with the response
We work alongside the organisations leading the incident response and recovery. Our findings go straight to them, to help decide where to monitor, where to clean up, and which places may release pellets again in future.
Who we are
A team of river scientists, modellers, sediment specialists and geochemists from Newcastle University and the University of Liverpool, funded through NERC's Urgency programme.