Lidl confirms washed up plastic products came from cargo spill
LIDL has confirmed a cargo spill which left thousands of plastic products washed up onto Guernsey’s shores was due to a container falling from a ship in ‘unusually heavy seas’.
The items were first identified in February, when 5,000 plastic bottles were collected from the island’s west coast beaches.
Although the ship was not owned by the supermarket giant, it did not take islanders long to realise with which chain the products were associated.
‘Whilst the ship is not owned or operated by Lidl, we were deeply concerned to learn of the incident and take our own commitments to tackling plastic waste extremely seriously,’ said a Lidl spokesman.
‘We also understand the burden that this will have placed on the communities that have been directly impacted by the spill and want to help with the clean-up operations.’
The products were on their way to market shelves in Spain when the container fell into the sea.
Guernsey’s beachcombers recovered toothbrushes, Avant water bottles and makeup remover bottles from the island’s beaches.
Sam Reoch, the founder of the Facebook group Found on the Beach in Guernsey (Beachcombers), said they had collected the majority of the products but there may be some remaining in areas that are hard to reach.
‘I’m sure we will see more for some time yet, depending on the tides and weather conditions.
‘Sadly the items are breaking down now, turning into more plastic pollution. Guernsey beach cleaners are excellent, we really pull together in times of need.
‘So many more people joined our efforts when they heard of the spill. Collectively, we have made a real difference,’ said Ms Reoch.
Plastic can take hundreds of years to fully decompose, but will gradually break up into microplastics before that happens, endangering marine life.
Agriculture Countryside & Land Management Services was informed of items washing up and further beach cleans were carried out in response.
States Works collected around 70 additional bags of waste that had been left by the public bins after volunteer beach cleans.
‘Guernsey is very fortunate to have a willing group of volunteer beach cleaners who have done a fantastic job clearing many items,’ said a spokesman from ACLMS.
