MP calls for ban on ‘biobeads’ at sewage works after devastating Camber Sands spillage

Exclusive: Use of toxic plastic beads in treatment works is unnecessary and outdated, say conservationists Helena Horton Environment reporter Thu 11 Dec 2025 09.16 GMT

The use of tiny, toxic plastic beads at sewage works should be banned nationwide, an MP and wildlife experts have said after a devastating spill at an internationally important nature reserve.

Hundreds of millions of “biobeads” washed up on Camber Sands beach in East Sussex last month, after a failure at a Southern Water sewage treatment works caused a catastrophic spill. It has distressed and alarmed local people and conservationists, as not only are the beads unsightly but they pose a deadly threat to wildlife.

Scientists at King’s College London tested the beads and found they contained heavy metals including lead and arsenic.