The petition of residents of the United Kingdom,
Declares that the use of plastic “biobeads” in wastewater treatment should be phased out.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons ask the Government to work with the water companies and the Environment Agency to end the use of plastic biobeads in wastewater treatment.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Helena Dollimore, Official Report, 18 March 2026; Vol. 782, c. 976.]
[P003173]
Observations from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy):
Polluting our waterways is unacceptable. It is right that Southern Water has taken responsibility for the appalling pollution incident at Camber Sands from November 2025, where a significant amount of bio-beads was discharged into the environment. The sector must step up to deliver improvements for the benefit of customers and the environment, and we are taking decisive action to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas.
The Secretary of State and I are in close contact with the Environment Agency, which is conducting an active investigation into the incident. A decision on enforcement action will be made in the coming weeks. I also visited the site on 13 November 2025 and met with Helena Dollimore, MP for Hastings and Rye.
As of 27 February 2026, Southern Water reports it has recovered 1,408 kg of washed and processed beads, from the initial estimated loss of 4,600 kg (30.5% recovery). Southern Water’s contractors are continuing to survey and clean up beads where found.
The Environment Agency, with local authorities, Natural England and Rye Harbour nature reserve, is working collaboratively to ensure an effective clean-up to collectively agreed standards.
To date no confirmed cases of death to wildlife have been caused by this pollution event. Two dead seals reported on 9 January were autopsied by the Animal Plant Health Authority in the joint EA-APHA laboratory at Starcross. We are yet to receive the post-mortem results.
This incident has been graded as a category 1 incident (most severe) to reflect the impact to land (category 1), nature, amenity and water (category 2). This categorisation has not been challenged by Southern Water.
I have recently written to water companies to further emphasise the need for the sector to ensure that these sorts of incidents do not occur, to reiterate how unacceptable the pollution incident at Camber Sands is, and to stress the positive action water companies must take to ensure their infrastructure is functioning correctly.
Water companies should take all necessary precautions to ensure all equipment is properly constructed and maintained to prevent the unauthorised or accidental escape of bio-beads from waste water treatment works into the environment.
The Government are looking into developing new standards for infrastructure resilience, which—coupled with robust water company planning through drainage and waste water management plans and the new statutory pollution incident reduction plans—will drive investment to improve waste water assets and reduce pollution into our environment.