They made a lot of noise in January. Large collection operations had even been organized to try to make them disappear. Ten months later, the presence of plastic beads, also called “mermaid tears”, has been reported again in recent days on certain beaches on the Atlantic coast. The association Surfrider Foundationwhich acts in Europe to protect the oceans, has warned of the appearance of industrial plastic granules (GPI) in Loire-Atlantique. Isolated reports have also been made in the south of Morbihan and in Finistère.
Nothing spectacular, however, compared to the massive arrival of January 2023. Expert in accidental water pollution, the Cedar indicates that he has not been contacted by any municipality in recent days. He believes that these microbeads could be linked to the passage of storms Ciaran and Domingos.
Buried and brought to the surface
“In fact, there are industrial plastic granules all the time,” says Nicolas Tamic, deputy director of Cedre. You don’t necessarily see them at first glance because they are often buried under a layer of sand. It is quite possible that with the violent waves caused by the storms, the sand was turned over and the GPIs rose to the surface. » “There is very probably a link with the storms,” confirms Lionel Cheylus, spokesperson for the Surfrider Foundation. But, even before this weather episode, we find these granules continually in the water or on the sand. It is eternal pollution. »
The origin of these pollutants is difficult to trace. The European Commission is currently working on a bill aimed at better regulating the production and transport of these pellets, used as raw material by the plastic industry.