UK plastic waste washes up on unspoiled Maine island after falling into the sea

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Last year the UK exported half a million tonnes of plastic waste

UK waste being shipped to the US to be incinerated has contaminated an unspoiled island after falling into the sea. Shredded plastic on its way to a plant in Maine in the northeastern US has washed ashore on Sears Island, a 1.5 sq mile island home to seals, otters and amphibians.

The rubbish was a small part of a shipment of almost 10,000 tons which had come from Northern Ireland to be burned at an energy-from-waste facility.

Last year the UK exported half a million tonnes of plastic waste, much of which goes to poorer countries in the southern hemisphere.

Ron Huber, of local environmental group Friends of Penobscot Bay, told local newspaper the Bangor Daily News that he was "shocked" by "the sheer amount of plastic".

Greenpeace UK senior plastics campaigner Nina Schrank said: "The shredded plastic from Northern Ireland could choke and entangle marine wildlife, and could cause even more damage once it degrades into tiny microplastics."

Northern Irish firm Re-Gen Waste Ltd, which was shipping the material, said the incident was an "one-off, extremely unfortunate occurrence" and that unloading had been the responsibility of local company Sprague Energy.

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It said a local environmental firm had been tasked with cleaning up the plastic, and students from the Maine Ocean School had also done a sweep of the shoreline.

"The area will be monitored regularly, to ensure that if any additional material appears, it will be removed," the company said.

Sprague Energy said that cargo had been damaged during transit, and "that damage was realised when the cargo was lifted from the ship to the dock. "Two bales fell into the water, and the materials dispersed. We are now working to clean up the materials as quickly as possible.

"Should further shipments be made, Sprague will be requiring air bag bladders between the stacks to prevent damage during transit," a spokeswoman for the company said.