The Canal and River Trust organisation are urging communities to take action on their doorstep to help tackle the global plastics crisis.
Working with Coventry University, the organisation has published a detailed analysis of the plastics and other litter found in our waterways.
The research reviewed data from 25 locations and found that plastics now account for 59 per cent of waste found along our canals.
They estimate that 570,000 items of plastic reach the world’s oceans each year via our waterways and believe with the help of local communities this figure could be drastically cut.
They are calling on every visitor to our waterways to make their own small contribution to help keep them clear of plastics, whether by picking up and recycling a piece each time they visit, becoming a volunteer, or adopting a short stretch of their local canal with friends, neighbours or colleagues.
“We are on a mission to eradicate plastics from our vast network of canals and rivers – helping us all to live in better, more beautiful neighbourhoods, whilst tackling a global issue, and making life better by water. By taking a little care of their local waterway, everyone can have beauty on their doorstep," said Peter Birch, national environmental policy advisor at Canal & River Trust.
“Devastatingly, despite being vital green corridors in the nation’s towns and cities, our canals and rivers can inadvertently act as ‘plastics highways’, transporting rubbish from where we live out to sea. Not only is this a huge problem for wildlife, which can be harmed, it also detracts from these special and important wellbeing places in our towns and cities. We believe everyone deserves – and can help create - beauty on their doorstep, and by taking action locally, they will also be helping tackle a global issue.”