After 25 years at sea, LEGO bricks are still washing up on beaches in England

Along the beaches of Cornwall, England's southwestern peninsula, locals and tourists alike have found more than just shells along the coast. Colorful ocean-themed Legos of octopuses, spinning tentacles, assorted diving equipment, whales and other plastic pieces have washed ashore over the past 25 years – a grim reminder of the lasting effects of plastic pollution.

On February 13, 1997, about five million Legos were lost at sea when a wave overturned a huge freighter called the Tokyo Express. Ironically, many of the kits had a sea creature theme. The event, known as the Great Lego Spill, is the worst toy-related environmental disaster of all time, and beachcombers are still discovering shipwrecked plastic treasures, reports Mindy Weisberger of LiveScience.

Arnold collected a total of 240 Lego diver's fins during the 2017 beach cleanup event.

The Lego pieces aboard the Tokyo Express were among 62 shipping containers that tumbled from the ship. The ship was headed to New York after loading its cargo in Rotterdam, Netherlands, when an unpredictable 28-foot wave crashed into a cargo ship 20 miles from the mainland, Jackie Butler reports for Cornwall Live. Other items swept out to sea included 10,000 disposable lighters, super glue and other dangerous chemicals.

Since then, collectors have sought out 'rare' pieces such as octopuses and green dragons. Tracey Williams – a local Cornish beachcomber and environmental activist – has documented the Lego spill for years on the "Lego Lost at Sea" social media pages via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. More recently, she published Adrift: The Curious Tale of Lego Lost at Sea, a book detailing the Lego incident.

Although the quirky novelties may amaze, the small stones highlight the impact of plastic pollution on the oceans. Of the 4,756,940 Lego pieces on board, about 3,178,807 were light enough to float and are what are commonly found on 40 beaches in Cornwall, Mario Cacciottolo reported for the BBC in 2014. For example, small plastic flowers and mini diving fins are regularly found seen. along the banks.

"What we're discovering now are the pieces that sank and the pieces that floated," Williams tells LiveScience. “It gives us insight into what happens to plastic in the ocean, how far it floats – both on the surface of the ocean but also along the seabed – and what happens to it when it breaks down.”

Small plastic flowers and mini diving fins are regularly seen along the banks. Rob Arnold

In 2017, Cornish resident Rob Arnold and 12 other volunteers collected about six million pieces of microplastic from a beach near his home, Inverse's Nick Lucchesi reported at the time. The volunteers found numerous Lego pieces among other plastic pieces, including 240 Lego diver's fins, on beaches 20 years after the cargo ship overturned.

Plastic in the ocean can take centuries to break down, and as it deteriorates, it releases chemicals that can disrupt animals' reproductive systems, LiveScience reports. Future generations will likely continue to experience the aftermath of the Great Lego Disaster. A study published in 2020 in Environmental Pollution found that, after analyzing Lego's structure with X-ray fluorescence, it would take about 1,300 years for the 1997 castaway Lego to completely decompose.

According to the IUCN, at least 14 million tons of plastic ends up in the oceans every year and makes up 80 percent of all marine debris found in deep-sea sediments and floating on surface waters.