Four day river clean-up will help protect marine wildlife

By admin on October 4, 2007 12:00 AM

OVER 11 tonnes of litter was cleared from the banks of the Thames as Isle of Dogs residents piled into a four-day clean-up.
The Thames21 Cleaner Thames Challenge attracted 300 volunteers from Thursday to Sunday (September 27 to 30), keen to tackle one of the dirtiest beaches in London.
Those answering the waterways charity's call included Poplar and Canning Town MP Jim Fitzpatrick, and employees from Credit Suisse, Waitrose, Reuters, the Marriott Hotel Group and University College London.

They cleared around 25,000 plastic bags from the riverbank, as well as more unusual finds such as a gun, a pick axe, a bunk bed, scaffolding, 25 truck tyres, 10 antique bottle stoppers and three World War II anti-aircraft shell cases.
A Thames21 spokeswoman said: "On a tidal river like the River Thames, litter is not just a local problem but threatens the wider marine environment and marine wildlife as litter is swept out to sea.
"Saying no to plastic bags starts to make a lot more sense when you have dug out hundreds of them from the river foreshore."
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