Lidl to investigate how plastic was washed up
THE German supermarket chain Lidl has confirmed it is investigating a cargo spill that has seen thousands of its plastic products washed up on Bailiwick beaches.
A spokeswoman said it wanted to ‘identify exactly what might have happened to that we can share a fully informed response’.
The company has also thanked people for their patience, and promised to ‘endeavour to get a response’.
Environmental campaigners had assumed that a shipping company was responsible for the pollution, but they had appealed to Lidl to clarify its involvement.
There are three main products which have washed up – Dentalux toothbrushes, Cien makeup remover, and W5 air freshener.
The makeup remover bottles state Lidl Supermercados on their labels, and the other products are part of the chain’s everyday range.
The biggest hauls have been found around Moulin Huet and Havelet Bay.
Members of the public collected the litter at Havelet and environmental campaigner Richard Lord lined up and photographed the bottles and toothbrushes on the slipway to show the extent of the problem.
Yesterday the litter was still coming ashore, but it seemed to be in smaller numbers.
On the beachcombers group on Facebook, one person posted pictures of the 44 toothbrushes and 34 bottles of makeup remover that had been picked up at Petit Bot and Moulin Huet.
Nearly two weeks ago the problem was Avant water bottles washing up, mainly around the west coast.
In total 7,675 of the 500ml bottles were counted by the beachcombers group, although the real number is expected to be much more.
