A group of people in the North-East seeking asylum have responded to an environmental disaster in the River Tyne by lending their time to the community volunteer beach-clean up effort this summer, demonstrating enthusiastic support for the community in which they find themselves.
Spillage threatens wildlife
On 19 July 2026, following a collision between two vessels in the Port of Tyne, an estimated 17 tonnes of plastic pellets, known as nurdles, entered the River Tyne. Around one billion of these tiny plastic pellets have since washed up along a 60-mile stretch of beaches across the North East and Yorkshire, prompting a huge community-led clean-up effort.
Bringing people together through nature
Action Asylum is a national project that brings people seeking asylum and other local residents together through environmental volunteering, running since 2020. The Newcastle project started in July 2026, delivered locally by Action Foundation. Volunteers take part in a wide range of activities, from park maintenance and gardening to tree planting and habitat conservation, working alongside local projects in their neighbourhoods.
Newcomers working with locals for good
The volunteers reacted to the call for urgent help with the nurdle clean-up on a sunny day in August when an 8-strong group made a trip to the Fish Quay in North Shields at high tide. They added their support to the thousands of people across the North East who have been chipping in to help clean-up the spill. Equipped with dustpans, brushes and the all-important kitchen sieves, they spent the day carefully sweeping up, and filtering hundreds of the small plastic pellets, each about the size of a lentil, into the dedicated collection bins on the promenade. They weren’t alone – other local people were there doing the same, as well as a crew from the local North Tyneside Council, everybody doing their bit to protect this beautiful place and the fragile marine and bird life it supports.
Jonathan, local volunteer and asylum seeker, said: “I felt like giving back to the community by volunteering at nurdle cleaning at the Beach, my participation in the effort symbolises me as a Newcastle resident, not necessarily an asylum seeker”
Zia, local volunteer and asylum seeker, had an unexpected personal connection, recalling: “I worked with nurdles in a factory making plastic pipes in my home country. These are toxic to animals and it’s not good for them to be in the sea.”, reminding the group of the interconnectedness of the world in which we all live.
Rob, the InterAction Manager at Newcastle refugee charity Action Foundation said: “A disaster of this scale needs everyone to pull together to limit the awful consequences for our local wildlife – our volunteers love their new home and today they showed that respect and care alongside their neighbours.”
This article is based on a media release from Action Foundation www.actionfoundation.org.uk
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