Volunteers’ huge litter haul from riverbank

MORE than 150 bags were filled with tonnes of rubbish recovered in a riverbank clean-up.

And large items such as fridges, fire extinguishers and traffic cones were retrieved by Cardiff Rivers Group volunteers from the banks of just one bend of the River Rhymney.

Jess Lewis, 40, who took part in an organised clean-up for the first time, said: “It was a great experience. There was a lot to clean up, too much for one person.

“I was really impressed with how much we collected, although it’s worrying as a society to see us all becoming so wasteful.”

It took the volunteers around two hours to clear the stretch of the riverbank.

Louise Tambini from Keep Wales Tidy said: “This area was one of the most littered stretches of river I have ever seen and I have been in this field of work for over 20 years. I was flabbergasted by the sheer volume of plastic.

“We really need to think about the choices we make when buying products to try and avoid singleuse plastic, but obviously we all need to dispose of all litter correctly when we are finished with it. Most of the waste found here today could have been recycled in domestic bins; there really is no excuse for littering”

“Saying that, today was a great example of what you can achieve in partnership. We were absolutely delighted by the response from the people of Cardiff who turned up to help.

“Fifty volunteers is a huge number and they all worked extremely hard indeed. The site was completely cleaned in under two hours – what an achievement.”

The waste was taken back to Lamby Way to be recycled by Cardiff council.

A committee member of Cardiff Rivers Group, Nigel Barry, said: “There were so many new faces today, loads of them! I can’t help thinking that the Blue Planet programme is continuing to change people’s attitudes and Cardiff Rivers Group are in the thick of it.

“We’d better brace ourselves for larger numbers of volunteers. It is great to see so many people caring for their environment”.

The event, which is part of Spring Clean Cymru, was due to be held on March 4 but the freezing weather forced it to be rescheduled.