Plastic Pellets

• Context (DTE): Plastic pellets are washing up on the beaches of Maharashtra.
• Plastic pellets (or nurdles) are tiny 1-5 mm beads made by petrochemical companies.
• They act as raw materials for the plastic industry to manufacture products.
• They can be made from polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride.
• Sources of plastic pellet pollution: Leak from various sources, including production facilities, transportation, storage, and recycling activities. (They are not the result of littering by citizens.)
• Challenge: Cleaning up pellets is tougher than regular beach clean-up due to their small size.

Chronic and Acute Pellet Spills: Reason Behind Marine Plastic Pellet Pollution

• Plastic pellets are transported from one country to another through the marine route.
• Major exporters of plastic pellets are the US, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea.
• India is the sixth-largest importer of plastic pellets. Majority of plastic pellets are imported into India from West Asian countries like the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
• Plastic pellets were found in marine waters near the shipping route of plastic pellets.
• The primary shipping route between Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and China is via the Indian Ocean.