Lego pieces lost in a 1997 storm continue to wash up on British shores, highlighting plastic pollution's long-lasting impact.
Lego pieces found on British beaches
For nearly thirty years, small colorful Lego pieces have been washing up on British beaches. They originated from a container that fell into the water during a violent storm in the Atlantic in 1997.Lego pieces as a symbol of plastic pollution
These lost Lego pieces highlight the issue of plastic pollution, which can persist in the environment for centuries. A study published in 2020 in Environmental Pollution showed that plastic bricks collected from the coasts of Cornwall could resist 100 to 1,300 years in seawater.The 1997 storm and lost containers
The incident began on February 13, 1997, when the container ship Tokio Express was en route from Rotterdam to New York. A sudden wave caught the ship about thirty kilometers off the coast of Cornwall, causing it to tilt by about sixty degrees and lose 62 containers into the Atlantic.Lego's durable plastic
The Lego pieces, made of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), a rigid plastic, have resisted the ocean for decades. Researchers from the University of Plymouth tested 50 worn bricks from beaches in southwest England to measure their resistance to seawater.
