Forth and Clyde canal gets visit from Poly-Roger in litter pick spring clean
THE Forth and Clyde canals are undergoing a spring clean thanks to Keep Scotland Beautiful and environmental charity Hubub.
Volunteers set off to fish for litter in Firhill from a boat named the Poly-Roger which is made from 99% recycled plastic recovered from the river Thames.
The boat is currently visiting rivers in the country as part of their #PlasticFishing tour across central Scotland in a bid to reduce plastic pollution in local waterways.
The event forms part of Keep Scotland Beautiful’s #Source2Sea week which has gathered support from Scottish Canals, local business as well as @McDonaldsUK.
Suzanne Roberts from Keep Scotland Beautiful feels there are lots of steps people can take to reduce rubbish pollution in our waterways, which is an increasing problem. “We know that litter levels in Scotland are worse than they’ve been in a decade.
“We have been working with Hubub to raise awareness to prevent plastic and rubbish pollution to stop it from entering our seas.
“Everyone’s been inspired by Blue Planet and David Attenburgh talking about marine litter, but what we haven’t seen is people making the connection of what they throw away on land and what ends up in the ocean.
Suzanne feels part of the solution is being able to go and remove litter from the environment and recycle it.
“All types of litter are a problem, some of it gets there accidentally but it all comes from a source and that source is us as individuals.
Whilst the population is good at recycling at home, we also need to make that connection to do that when we’re out and about. Suzanne says: “We don’t all have to use single-use products, we all can do our bit for the environment and think appropriate disposal.
“Climate change and ocean pollution seem like massive problems to tackle, but individually we can all do something to amount to a positive change.”
Suzanne praised the deposit return scheme announcement as a great idea from the Scottish Government, and feels although it’s ambitious, it could mean big changes.”We’re looking forward to working with those at Zero Waste Scotland and the Scottish Government to make sure it is designed and fit for purpose, and hopefully we’ll see a difference in recycling and littering behavior.”
