Plastic discs from a wastewater treatment works in Swansea have washed up in huge numbers across the city’s beach as well as Gower and Neath Port Talbot.
Welsh Water said they had escaped from its unit off Fabian Way after a power failure, which coincided with increased wastewater flows. It added that measures have been put in place to stop it from happening again.
People have described seeing them on beaches at Langland, Caswell, Three Cliffs, Pwll Du, Oxwich, Pobbles, Port Eynon, Mewslade, and Rhossili, all in Gower, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The £1 coin-sized discs are used in the biological treatment of wastewater. Natural Resources Wales says it is investigating.
Chloe Stacey, of Killay, who found a mass of them on Swansea beach, said: “Thousands is an understatement. They absolutely plagued the high tide line.”
She said separating ones caught up on in seaweed or other debris would need to be done by hand.
Chris Maskell did a litter pick in Port Eynon on 19 October and picked up “dozens but most were wrapped up and trapped in seaweed”.
Leanne Thomas said there were lots of them in rock pools near Culver Hole, Gower, while Catrin Davies said she picked up 300-plus on Swansea beach late last month and another 20 or so two days ago.
In a statement, Welsh Water said the discs spilled from treatment tanks on 24 September “following a power failure which coincided with increased flows”.
“This was stopped after a short time. However some of the discs were lost and went out via the outfall,” it told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“Processes have been put in place to prevent a similar issue happening again.”
Natural Resources Wales said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the escape of the discs and continued to monitor local beaches for their presence.
Neath Port Talbot Council said cleansing staff had removed small amounts of the debris from beaches and that it was also monitoring the situation. Swansea Council hasn’t commented.
