Nurdles sound like the kids who were always getting their heads dunked in the toilet in middle school.

But nurdles are a force to be reckoned with. They are actually tiny plastic resin pellets used in the production of plastics and during the shipping process millions of them escape into the ocean and create environmental havoc.

Nurdles and other plastic trash in the ocean were one of the topics highlighted in the fourth annual Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences (BIOS) Explorers Film Series.

This year's film was called 'Making Sense of Sustainability'. More than 2,000 Bermuda school students saw it at BIOS in February.

J.P. Skinner, BIOS education officer, said this year's film was different because it was entirely produced by BIOS.

"Usually we hire a film company," he said. "We didn't do that this year. This film was homegrown. It didn't have as many bells and whistles, but it was fun. It was definitely a challenge."

The film used local scientists and students from BIOS' summer Waterstart programme, a marine science programme for students over the age of 12.

The film was broken down into four modules including plastics in the ocean, alternative energy, composting and sustainable fisheries.

Mr. Skinner said the module on plastics in the ocean was "quite depressing". "Plastic has become a huge problem in the oceans," he said.

It is such a problem that when BIOS carries out plankton tows in the Sargasso Sea — a kind of trawl for microorganisms — they often come back with more plastics than marine life.

Nurdles, which can be found in the sand on any Bermuda beach are a huge problem because they never biodegrade.

"Floating in the water they look like fish eggs," said Mr. Skinner. "Seaturtles and birds eat them, and can't digest them."

The nurdles and other plastic from the ocean, eventually fill up a bird or turtle's entire stomach until there is no longer room for real food and they starve to death.

Nurdles are also bad because they absorb pollutants from the ocean such as agricultural pesticides.

During filming, Waterstart students collected nurdles and took them back to the lab to be looked at by BIOS scientist Dr. Andrew Peters.

The nurdles were then sent on to a study in Japan that tests the pesticides in nurdles collected from different places. BIOS is still waiting to hear back about the results.

Mr. Skinner said: "Nurdles act as a biomagnifier in the food chain for things like DDT and other Persistent Organic Pollutants."

This means that if an animal further up the food chain should eat several smaller animals containing the pellets they receive an extra large dose of pollutant poison.

To learn more about trash on Bermuda's beaches Waterstart students did a trash clean-up of Whale Bay on Cooper's Island.

"The largest piece of trash we moved was a truck tire," said Mr. Skinner. "It took the entire team to move it from the water and transport it to the dump."

They collected bags of plastics washed up on the beach. Most of the plastic was taken to the dump, but some large bits of plastic debris were taken back to the lab to be analysed to see if any marine life had nibbled on it.

Sure many of the plastic pieces showed tiny scrapes and chip marks along the edges that indicated baby turtles had been chewing on it.

After seeing the film at BIOS, students visited several scientific stations around the room to learn more and watch scientists conducting mini-experiments.

The alternative energy station showed a number of easily constructed devices that could be used to generate heat. There was one example of a Kyoto box. This little box is made up of tinfoil, newspaper and black paper to create an oven. Temperatures inside the box can reach 165 Fahrenheit on a sunny day. That is hot enough to boil water.

At the alternative energy station, Sarah Maybury, 15, of Warwick Academy, said: "I have heard of some of this stuff before. But the film was very informative. We learned a lot."

She said she and her friends would be interested in trying some of the alternative energy sources on display.

Christian Wright, 15, also of Warwick Academy said he was going to make more of an effort to be more environmentally conscious.

"I might try alternative fuel sources, but I am not sure I could change my whole lifestyle," he said.

Malachi Symons, 15, was in the previous year's BIOS film. "During that film we were looking at corals and reefs," he said. "It was very interesting.

"During the Waterstart programme they taught us how to scuba dive. We learned a lot about the effects of global warming on the corals. I don't know what we are going to do."

The Waterstart programme is open to students 12 and older. Scholarships are available. To apply, contact Mr. Skinner at BIOS at 297-1880 or email info@bios.edu

Some Facts:

¦ The average plastic beverage container takes 400 years to break down.

¦ The average Bermudian spends $400 a month on electricity.

¦ 4,500 barrels of oil are used each day at Belco.

¦ An alternative energy source for heating water in the house could shave as much as $100 off a person's monthly electricity bill.