leach

Regular tests show surface water in the Faughan is not affected, but groundwater under the landfill is polluted and the aim is to prevent this leaching into the river.

Despite the benefits of plastic to almost every sector, scientists are particularly concerned about potentially toxic chemicals they contain, which can leach out as plastics break down into smaller pieces.

With rare earths, it's not so much about the mining footprint, rather the processing that is a dirty business – because it involves extraction, leaching, thermal cracking and refining which produce radioactive components.

They found the most heavily contaminated nurdles were those burnt in the fire, which leach metals toxic to aquatic life, like arsenic, lead, cadmium, copper, cobalt and nickel.

"And the rusting metal in there is starting to leach. The iron and nickel and copper is leaching out over the rocks and it looks unsightly."