They’ve been at it again.
Last Sunday, April 14, Strandliners local volunteers were out in force along the banks of the River Rother. They were also out on the Tuesday before, April 9.
In just over two weeks, the all-volunteer force has now cleared the left (south) bank of the River Rother from Scots Float Sluice on Military Road in Rye to the 12th tee of the Rye Golf Club, a distance of over two miles of riverbank.
The result? A cumulative total of just under one half tonne collected and binned!
“Last year Strandliners cleared 2.5 tonnes from below the Monk Bretton road bridge downstream,” says Strandliners’ director Andrew Dinsdale. “Frankly, I didn’t expect we’d find that much this time, but… it just keeps coming back.” Among the usual culprits identified were single use plastic bottles, food containers and commercial fishing gear.
This last week also saw the release of a disturbing new report (EcoLab Research Institute, Toulouse) that found that tiny plastic particles – microfibres and microplastics – are being blown by winds over vast distances; even up into the mountains. The conclusion: Plastic is now not only present in the tap water we drink but also in the air we breathe.
Strandliners conducted its most recent clean-up in collaboration with Cornish-based Surfers Against Sewage as part of a nationwide “Brand Audit.”
Strandliners CIC is a not-for-profit community interest company. If you would like to sign up for news of Strandliners’ beach-clean events, email strandliner@gmail.com.
Image Credits: Andrew Dinsdale .