Plastic pollution under scrutiny

The Environment Agency is investigating how plastic used for biofilters in fish farming is being stored, handled and transported.

This comes after large spills of tiny plastic disks washed up on beaches across the islands earlier this month.

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Salmon farming company Luna admitted that it had stored bags with used biofilters in an area in Miðvágur a few years ago. 

After the bags were found to have holes in them, they were removed, but the area was not cleared up at the time, which means that a certain amount of plastic bits were left in the area. Luna has now confirmed to the Environment Agency that the area has been fully cleared.

A single incident most likely

The other incident is the plastic pollution in Skálafjørður fjord, where large amounts of plastic bits had washed up on the beaches.

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According to the Environment Agency, the spill is probably the result of storage, transport or handling mistakes. The amount of identical plastic bits suggests that a single local spill is the most likely cause. 

The police are carrying out further investigations. The Environment Agency is keen to point out that it is illegal to leave rubbish lying in nature.

Translated by prosa.fo