Hi John, 

Last week, we saw something disturbing. Millions of toxic plastic ‘bio-beads’ washed up on Camber Sands in one of the worst pellet pollution incidents. And this has been happening all across the UK for years.

At the centre of these disasters? Water companies. 🤡

A reminder that when it comes to wrecking the places we love, the water industry doesn’t just spew sewage - they smother us with plastic too.

What happened?

Between 7-10 November, local communities discovered a thick black line of millions of toxic bio-beads washed up on Camber Sands beach.

After two weeks of silence, Southern Water finally admitted they’d spilled them from their plant during Storm Benjamin.

And the result is catastrophic. Camber Sands isn’t just a much-loved beach, it’s a protected wildlife haven. Even with huge volunteer clean-ups underway, we fear long-term damage has already been done.

This was not a freak accident. It was the predictable result of chronic under investment, weak regulation, and an industry that puts profit before people and planet.

What are bio-beads?

Bio-beads aren’t just plastic. They’re tiny toxic carriers, coated in harmful sewage, chemicals, pathogens, and even drug-resistant bacteria. Once in the ocean, they’re eaten by birds, fish and marine life - often with fatal consequences. And they don’t go away.

A nationwide environmental disaster

This isn’t a one-off. Similar spills have hit many beaches and rivers across the UK, thanks to our failing water system:

🤬 A few weeks ago, there was a massive bead spill in Lyme Regis from Uplyme sewage works.

 
🤬 Last month, SAS reps found devastating numbers of plastic discs on Pembrokeshire beaches, spilled from a Welsh Water treatment works.

🤬 Back in 2010, South West Water released millions of bio-beads into the Fal River, Truro, which are still being found in huge numbers 15 years later.

Plastic and sewage pollution are symptoms of the same broken model: one where corporations escape responsibility while communities pay the price. 

Apologies aren't enough

Yes, Southern Water said sorry and posted pics of their cronies picking up the mess (nice bit of PR there). But it was volunteers and environmental orgs doing the real legwork.

This disaster comes after years of under investment, poor environmental ratings, repeated pollution incidents, and (of course) the CEO’s pay doubling to £1.4 million. Meanwhile, it’s people like us who are footing the clean-up bill.

If water companies want some kudos, they can earn it by actually fixing their infrastructure.

What we’re doing about it

We’re working behind the scenes with local communities in affected areas to clean up this mess and expose the profiteering polluters.

We demand immediate action:

👉 Southern Water must pay the full cost of the clean-up and long-term environmental monitoring.

👉 An independent investigation with publicly available findings.

👉 A phase-out of plastic bio-beads and a rapid shift to safer alternatives in wastewater treatment.

👉 National recognition that spills like this are part of systemic industry failure, not isolated mistakes.

What you can do right now

Camber Sands is just one piece of a much bigger problem. We will not stop until our waters are protected from repeat disasters like this.

You can help power this movement by becoming an SAS member today. For as little as the cost of a coffee each month, you’ll help us expose the truth, hold polluters to account, and push for real change. ✊

More ways to take action

✅ Report sightings of bio-beads or biodiscs to the Environment Agency, SEPA  or NIEA.

✅ Join local SAS reps or Plastic Free Community helping with clean-ups at Camber Sands or your nearest impacted beach.

✅ Join The People vs Plastic and #EndSewagePollution campaigns to keep pressure on the water industry and government.

For thriving oceans and thriving people - thank you for standing with us, John.