A peaceful gathering took place at Gwithian Towans last Sunday in protest against plans to dump mineral waste in St Ives Bay. 

Around 300 people from Hayle, St Ives, Carbis Bay and Gwithian attended the event in response to proposals by Canadian company Planetary to add magnesium hydroxide to a nearby sewage outfall as part of a scheme called Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement, designed to draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in an attempt to tackle global warming.  

However, local charities and individuals have expressed concern about the impact of such a scheme on marine wildlife. Speakers on Sunday included Sue Sayer of the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust, Surfers Against Sewage co-founder Chris Hines and local youngsters Oli Riley, Lilly Strevens and Leila Noverraz. 

Attendees were asked to bring red flags. A samba band played with chants written specially for the day, and participants processed to the beach, where surfers and swimmers took to the water and formed a ring in front of Godrevy lighthouse. 

Organising committee member Senara Wilson Hodges described the crowd as “diverse and totally grass-roots - not aligned with any specific group”. 

“Today we have drawn a line in the sand, a circle of surfers in the sea - we will always show up and stand together to Save St Ives Bay,” she said. 

She described Planetary Technologies as “a for-profit company whose business model is selling this system to water companies, and also selling Carbon Removal Credits”, that is enabling other companies (with existing customers including international platform Shopify) to offset their carbon footprint. 

“Unfortunately Planetary Technologies ‘forgot’ to mention its experiment to any of the actual humans living here,” she continued. “There was zero communication and when news leaked out, all we knew was that the next phase of the experiment would happen imminently. It was a done deal, yet we have many questions and concerns that have not been addressed.” 

Calling for an independent environmental impact assessment by a statutory body, Ms Wilson Hodges added that protests had already made a difference to the proposed experiment. 

“There have been many important concessions - the amount of magnesium hydroxide to be used and the flow times have been greatly reduced, and as for the date, it seems the Environment Agency has asked for an indefinite pause until certain criteria are met.”

Ms Wilson Hodges continued: “This won’t be the last time we will need to come together - we have to keep scrutinising Planetary Technology and the other companies that will come to us with climate projects and businesses in the years ahead. Some will be right for our local environment and community and some won’t. We get to be part of the conversation.”

An Environment Agency spokesperson confirmed that before considering any application to allow the addition of magnesium hydroxide to the outfall, South West Water and Planetary Technologies had been asked to meet several requirements, including: to design an Environmental Impact Assessment and an effective monitoring programme in the marine environment; to produce a detailed assessment on the overall life-cycle carbon footprint of the project; and to increase public engagement with local interest groups, environmental charities, the local authority and others.

“The Environment Agency is sympathetic to the innovative carbon capture scheme being proposed at Hayle Waste Water Treatment Works by South West Water and Planetary Technologies, but before we give the go-ahead we must ensure there will be no adverse impact on the receiving environment and marine life.”

West Cornwall MP Derek Thomas asked Planetary Technologies for a detailed briefing about the proposals, and met the company’s chief executive in Penzance last week. The presentation that was made to him can be viewed on his website, as can an online presentation on Thursday, April 27 at 5.30pm.

“The method is already widely used in water treatment plants… the dosage is small, it is non-toxic and does not accumulate in sediments or organisms,” said Mr Thomas. “The question for me is whether it will take carbon from the atmosphere. This is what the trial is designed to find out – and it is relying on the combination of shallowness and turbulence of the waters along the coast of Cornwall to find out.”