Paddle out to purge plastic in UK waterways

Lizzie Carr, double world record holder and environmental activist, is holding #PlasticPatrol clean up events across 12 locations in the UK this summer to clean the country’s most polluted waterways.

Carr become the first female in history to solo stand up paddle board across the English Channel, highlighting bigger environmental issues on plastic pollution in our oceans.

Carr has launched #PlasticPatrol, a nationwide initiative to tackle the 80 per cent of marine debris that comes from inland by hosting clean up events and inviting the public to join her.

“The huge response to the increasing awareness of the issue with plastic pollution has spurred me on to run more clean ups in 2018, enlisting further support from local communities,” said Carr. 

“By getting involved people are able to try a new activity, meet like-minded people, and get fit but, above all, fight the global issue of plastic pollution choking our waterways."

All clean ups are free to attend and for anyone who wants to stay on land there will also be an opportunity to clean up the towpaths simultaneously.

Individuals are also encouraged to bring their own canoes, kayaks or paddle boards.

Earlier this year, Plastic Patrol was selected to receive financial, technical and business support from Geovation, Ordnance Survey’s innovation initiative.

This was in response to the Geovation Challenge which invited ideas that would build greener and smarter communities.

As a result, the #PlasticPatrol app is in phase two of its development for users to geolocate and report plastic pollution.