A search of 279 beaches around the UK has found that almost three-quarters of them were littered with tiny plastic “nurdles”.
Volunteers signed up to search their local shoreline, ranging between Shetland and the Scilly Isles, for the lentil-sized pellets, used as a raw material to make plastic products.
They can cause damage to such wildlife as birds and fish, which eat them.
The findings will be reflected in a government study into microplastics.