This Saturday, we’re heading down to Fish Quay Beach in North Shields for a community nurdle clean, and we’d love you to join us.

Following the recent spill that released tonnes of tiny plastic nurdles into the sea, volunteers have been working along the North East coastline to remove as many as possible before they’re carried further by tides, wildlife and the wider marine environment.

It’s a fairly simple job, but one where lots of hands can make a very real difference.

Saturday 5 September · 12.30pm
Fish Quay Beach, North Shields

We’ll meet at 12.30pm in the Low Lights car park, directly facing the beach. Parking is free, and Steve will be leading our Yoga x Life group, beginning with a quick introduction and safety briefing before everyone gets started.

We’ve deliberately planned the clean so there’s time to come to your usual Saturday morning yoga first and then head down afterwards (maybe some carpooling?)

We’ve added a free Community Beach Clean class to the Yoga x Life schedule. Please book yourself a place so we have a good idea of numbers - but importantly, Steve will meeting officially at the car park in North Shields, NOT at the studio.

What exactly are we looking for?
Nurdles are tiny plastic pellets used in the manufacture of plastic products. Because they’re so small, once they enter the marine environment they’re extraordinarily difficult to recover - which is why organised community efforts like this are so useful.

You don’t need any previous experience. We’ll explain what to look for and how to collect them safely when we meet.

We have some resource packs from Surfers Against Sewage, and Yoga x Life Studios will also be providing some equipment to support the clean. If you have your own kit, though, please bring it along.

What to bring
Wear comfortable clothes you don’t mind getting a little dirty or damp, plus a coat and waterproof shoes or wellies. Waterproof footwear is particularly useful if you need to dunk a sieve or net into the sea to remove excess sand.

If you have them, please also bring:

waterproof gardening or Marigold-style gloves
a household dustpan and brush
a household sieve or fishing net with less than 3mm mesh
drinking water
suncream - optimism encouraged!



Before Saturday
This is a community volunteer clean and the timing has been planned around the tides. We’ll make a final check 24 hours beforehand to make sure conditions remain safe, and we’ll let everyone booked onto the clean know if anything needs to change. If you are thinking of joining us its super important you put your name in the class so we know who to contact. 

There’s also an excellent community volunteer resource with information about the spill, what has already been done, how to nurdle safely and the equipment you can use:

https://nurdle-hub-ne.vercel.app/beach-cleanup

And if North Shields isn't your patch…
This spill isn’t confined to one beach. Nurdles are affecting the wider North East coastline and beyond, so the Fish Quay clean is simply one corner of a much bigger effort needed. Whilst a commercial clean up has been announced it isn't moving at the speed of the volunteers yet! 

If North Shields isn’t particularly close to home, keep an eye out for organised nurdle cleans on beaches nearer to you. There is also expected to be a future clean-up effort focusing on the River Ouse itself, which we’ll keep an eye on and will be supporting alongside many other activities that we support in the Ouseburn. If you fancy joining us for weekly litter picks and more Steve is our official coordinator and Ouseburn trust liason, he's at the studio most morning and evenings so say hello and he'll get you on the rota to ensure our neighbourhood is well looked after. 


Thankyou in advance! 
Book the free Beach Clean session through the Yoga x Life schedule so we know you’re coming, then meet Steve and the rest of us at the Low Lights car park at 12.30pm on Saturday.