Forth Road Bridge closed after Greenpeace protest
Last updated 25th Jul 2025
The Forth Road Bridge has been closed following a major protest by Greenpeace targeting UK chemicals giant INEOS, in a dramatic demonstration calling for urgent action on plastic pollution.
Police were called around 1.05pm on Friday after activists climbed onto the bridge structure and unfurled large banners, halting traffic and blocking the passage of a massive INEOS tanker attempting to reach Grangemouth.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We were made aware of a protest on the Forth Road Bridge around 1.05pm on Friday, 25 July. Officers remain in attendance and are engaging with those involved.”
The 10 climbers, suspended 25 metres above the River Forth, are confronting the tanker 'INDEPENDENCE', which Greenpeace says is carrying 27,500 cubic metres of ethane - used by INEOS to produce virgin plastic at its Grangemouth plant. The group says INEOS produces up to 35 billion plastic pellets (or “nurdles”) a day, enough to make 60 million plastic bottles.
Specialist officers are at the scene and say they are engaging with those involved. The bridge remains closed in both directions, and drivers are being urged to avoid the area.
The action comes just days before the final round of UN negotiations on a Global Plastics Treaty begins in Geneva on 5 August.
Greenpeace is demanding that the treaty include a legally binding target to cut global plastic production by at least 75% by 2040, and that lobbyists from fossil fuel and plastics firms -including INEOS -be excluded from the talks.
Greenpeace claims INEOS and other major plastics producers have sent hundreds of lobbyists to previous treaty talks, using intimidation and other tactics to resist any cap on production.
Amy Cameron, Programme Director at Greenpeace UK, said: “Plastic pollution has reached a crisis point: it’s poisoning our land, seas, air, even our bodies. The Global Plastics Treaty offers us a once-in-a-generation chance to tackle the problem for good, so it's no surprise INEOS and its billionaire boss, Jim Ratcliffe, are doing everything they can to stop it.
Ratcliffe tries to distract us with sports teams and sponsorships, but we’re not going to let him fill our planet with plastic, so he can fill his pockets with profit.”
The climbers are being supported by a rescue crew on the bridge and a boat team below. It is unclear how long they intend to remain in position.
In response, INEOS criticised the action as “dangerous, disruptive, and entirely counterproductive,” accusing Greenpeace of threatening skilled jobs in Scotland.
A spokesperson said: “INEOS produces materials society relies on - from medical equipment and clean water pipes to lightweight cars and wind turbine blades. Even the protesters’ harnesses are made with plastics.
"The ethane shipment is a by-product necessary to heat homes in the US, and used to create high-performance plastics that lower emissions and waste.”
The company also defended its environmental record, saying it’s investing in advanced recycling and circular design, and called for a global focus on waste collection and recycling infrastructure rather than caps on plastic production.
Police say officers are at the scene and engaging with those involved. The bridge remains closed.