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Plastic pellet clean-up resumes on Camber Sands beach
Overview
The clean-up operation to remove millions of plastic biobeads from Camber Sands beach has resumed after being paused for the summer. The pellets leaked from a Southern Water treatment works in Eastbourne in October 2025 and washed up across East Sussex and Kent. Funded by Southern Water and carried out by the clean-up company Nurdle using vacuum equipment, the unprecedented operation is set to continue through the winter.
Key points
- Work to remove millions of plastic biobeads from Camber Sands beach has restarted following a summer break.
- The pellets entered the sea due to a spill at a Southern Water treatment works in Eastbourne in October 2025.
- The clean-up is being funded by Southern Water and managed by the company Nurdle using vacuum equipment.
- Tests by King's College London previously found heavy metals including lead, arsenic and cadmium on pellets washed up in Camber.
- Southern Water stated it is looking at ways to improve containment and control at the Eastbourne site to prevent future incidents.