London’s largest mass census of river plastic, the annual Big Bottle Count, saw more than 100 volunteers count and remove plastic bottles from the River Thames.
A total of 1,732 plastic bottles were counted and removed at 17 sites along the Thames as part of the ongoing investigation into the impact of single-use plastic bottles in the river, organised by leading waterways charity Thamas21, local group the Grays Beachcombers, and assisted by the #OneLess campaign.
The latest count means more than 27,000 plastic bottles have been removed from the river by Thames21 volunteers in the past year, and more than 107,000 since records began in 2016.
Thames21 data shows that still water plastic bottles account for half of all plastic bottles found in the river.
The Big Bottle Count forms part of a regular ongoing monitoring programme run by Thames21, empowering Londoners to collect crucial plastic data and to champion the health of the river Thames.
AJ McConville, a coordinator for the Thames21 programme, said: “Plastic drinks bottles continue to blight the Thames, with more than 27,000 removed in the past year alone, many of which are still water bottles.”
“It’s very frustrating to see all this plastic from water bottles in the river when we know London tap water is safe to drink.”
Debbie Leach, CEO of Thames21, said: “These findings highlight the urgent need for a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers of all size and materials.”
“In Germany, which has had this system since 2003, PET bottles are now recycled at a rate of 99 per cent. Why is it taking so long to introduce it in the UK? Our rivers simply cannot wait.”