Plastic peril in rural river

COUNTRYSIDE rivers and lakes are as full of plastic as the Thames, a study has revealed.

Scientists were shocked at the level of microplastics in two remote waterways in Wales. The Afon Cegin river in Snowdonia had 76.9 pieces of microplastic per litre, close to the 84.1 reading for the Thames in London. The team from Bangor University and Friends of the Earth also recorded 43.2 pieces per litre in the Llyn Cefni Reservoir in Anglesey.

Dr Christian Dunn, who led the research, said: ‘It was more than a little startling to discover microplastics in even the most remote sites we tested. These initial findings show that we have to start taking the issue of plastic in our inland waters seriously.’