Lego Beach Day!

BY NHI VUONG

While taking a walk along Portwrinkle Beach in Cornwall, England, a marine biologist named Hayley Hardstaff found a small dragon in the waters. This strange black and plastic object was a Lego piece, and it was missing its upper jaw. In 1997, nearly 5 million Lego pieces, including 33,427 black dragons, were traveling on the Tokio Express before it was hit by a rogue wave. The ship was traveling to New York from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and it lost all 62 of its shipping containers; this event is known as the Great Lego Spill. Coincidentally, most of these pieces were ocean themed. 

This has been the largest toy-related environmental disaster that experts know of, and people were still finding pieces 27 years later. The account Lego Lost at Sea, which has accounts on X and Instagram, is run by Tracey Williams. Tracey started documenting the different Lego finds after she moved to Cornwall in 2010. People found a variety of Legos, like colorful octopuses, dragons, life rafts, scuba flippers, scuba tanks, sea grass, and more. These small toys have been found on the English coast, in Wales, France, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands. However, there is a possibility that pieces have drifted all over the world by now. 

Rob Arnold, a Cornwall artist, creates new artworks from plastics he discovers on the English coast. He hopes to reduce marine plastic pollution and raise awareness about it. He collects water bottles, plastic teeth, bottle caps, and, of course, Lego. “Hoping we’re going to find some Lego,” said Mr. Arnold, “makes beach cleanings a bit more fun.” 

Cites – 

https://www.nytimes.com/