There is a Global Nurdle Hunt and We are All Invited to Join

Photo Credit: On File

There are currently over 5800 Nurdle Hunts taking place around the world, and this is how you can join to help study these pesky bits of plastic.

Global (19 October 2021) – Nurdles are small plastic pellets about the size of a lentil. Countless billions of them are used each year to make nearly all our plastic products. Over the last month, they seem to be plaguing the beaches around the world.

The Great Global Nurdle Hunt was established to study just how far-reaching the nurdle problem is. By citizen scientists taking part in a global search for nurdles, cataloguing them and sharing the information with the people who can collate it and use it to drive change.

The problem is that the nurdles look very similar to many food sources in the ocean. This means animals and fish mistake them for food, ingest them and run into problems when they no longer have space in their bodies for real food or the plastic toxins cause issues.

“You don’t have to collect the nurdles you find, the most important part is the number of nurdles you think are present on the beach during your nurdle hunt!

But if you do want to collect them, which is sometimes helpful for counting, an old jam jar is ideal for keeping nurdles in and showing them off to your friends.”

How to take part

WHEN: 1st – 31st October 2021

Taking part is easy! All you have to do is:

Head to your chosen location (beach or water body) on a day in October.
Hunt for nurdles and record how many you find.
Submit your data to the map (here).

There are several resources, so if you have any more questions about taking part, you can use the resources supplied here.

“Unfortunately nurdles can’t be recycled so if you do collect them, and don’t want to keep them, please place them in a bin. Sometimes the best option is to fill a plastic bottle with them as they are less likely to break than a bag, and therefore less likely to spill into the environment on the way to landfill. Not ideal, we know, but that’s why we want to stop them entering our oceans in the first place.”

The Two Ocean’s Aquarium Education Foundation supports this incredible project and are encouraging others to join in. Will you be taking part in this global event?