Back to work
MOST of the Canal & River Trust’s furloughed colleagues – around 630 at the peak of the pandemic – were expected to be back at work by mid-July. Essential facilities were kept open through the lockdown but some works were deferred. The first tranche of volunteer lock keepers are back with a phased return of other volunteers including towpath rangers and those manning welcome stations. While volunteering activity has been on hold, some areas have seen an increase in discarded litter, prompting CRT to ramp up its Plastics Challenge,
CELEBRITIES including Dragons’ Den investor Deborah Meaden and comedian, musician and actor Bill Bailey have been supporting the Plastics Challenge championed by the Canal & River Trust.
Since the launch of its Plastics Challenge last year, volunteers had given more than 10,000 hours a month to tackle the problem, and a survey showed that plastics and litter in and around the trust’s waterways had dropped by 30%.
But after all volunteer activity was suspended in mid-March, it is now feared that much of those environmental gains could have been lost during the coronavirus lockdown period.
CRT national environmental policy advisor Peter Birch said: “Thanks to the efforts of individual visitors, local communities and volunteers, we had seen great gains prior to lockdown, however this trend could have reversed as our volunteers have been required to stay away and the use of towpaths has increased in many urban residential areas as people have enjoyed using towpaths for their daily exercise.”
Every year 14 million pieces of plastic end up in and around our canals and rivers and these plastic bottles, food wrappers, bags and straws can be harmful for the fish, swans, ducks and birds that make the canals their home. It’s an ongoing issue and one that the charity’s volunteers help to keep on top of.
Peter Birch continued: “Staying close to your home has become more important than ever in recent times and for many people their local canal or river will have brought some vital well-being at a time of great anxiety. But sadly, the problem with discarded plastics and litter remains an issue for us and every year enough plastic to fill 20,000 bin bags are washed from our canals and rivers out into the ocean.
“While people still need to carefully follow government guidelines on social distancing and washing their hands, the trust is asking visitors to carry out a short litter pick while enjoying some exercise at their local canal or river. To ensure everyone takes part in the challenge safely, it’s created a handy guide which can be downloaded from the Canal & River Trust website. Please make sure you wear gloves or use a litter picker if you have one, and please take home what you collect and recycle what you can.”
CRT is encouraging people to share their photos on social media with the #PlasticsChallenge