Team Work With Fulham FC To Fight River Litter

---

Putney Tidy Towpath joined Thames21 and FFC volunteers to achieve a green goal


Volunteers on Fulham foreshore getting down and dirty - image: ©Simon Dael

They say that the sun shines on the righteous and if there is any truth in that then Fulham foreshore had a bunch of very righteous people on it yesterday (10th April). Organised by Fulham FC and managed by Thames21 a charity that is 'the voice for London’s waterways, working with communities to improve rivers and canals for people and wildlife'. Co-founder of Putney Tidy Towpath, Sandi Bloomfield, joined the Thames 21 team, to see "how the foreshore differed on the other side of our stretch of the river".


A.J gives safety briefing

After a health and safety briefing from AJ McConville of Thames21 the volunteers and Thames21team set off through Bishop's Park to the steps down to the foreshore. A stretch to clean was set out between two cages supplied by the Port of London Authority (PLA) which into which the bagged litter was placed for barges to remove at high tide.


image: ©Simon Dael

Sandi said: 'I was shocked by the difference - there were thousands of wet wipes and sanitary products, intertwined with plastic waste, fishing nets, ropes and plenty of clothing, whereas Putney's foreshore there are few wet wipes and mainly plastic rubbish, such as bottles, broken polystyrene and earbuds sticks.'

A.J McConville from Thames21 was surprised by the litter they found in the area: 'We haven't been to this site for 10 years and the type of litter is very different. We were picking up traffic cones and shopping trolleys, not 1000's of wet wipes.'

Poppy Flint from Thames21 commented: 'What is alarming is how it can look clean from the walkway above the river. It isn't until you look closely that you realise the scale of the problem; tangled masses of wet wipes and sanitary towels covered in silt. These will be breaking down into micro plastics which will be washed into the sea with the tides.

'The people taking part today were horrified by the extent of it. There were pledges never to flush wet wipes again and great conversations about what actions individuals can take. One person said all school students should take part in an event like this to truly understand that when we throw something 'away' it has impact somewhere else'.


image: ©Simon Dael

It won't be another ten years before the next clear up outside Fulham FC, a spokesperson for Fulham FC commented: "The river clean-up along the foreshore at Craven Cottage involved many volunteers from our community including representatives from a leading waterways charity, Thames 21, Fulham FC Foundation and Club Partner, Buxton. We thank all participants for giving up some of their spare time. It was a worthwhile exercise and helps to sustain and improve our local environment and we look forward to hosting similar events in the future."

April 12, 2019