Written By: James Aldous
On Date: 1/3/2010
Thames21, London’s leading waterways charity, will use the lowest daytime tide in five years as an opportunity to highlight London’s legacy of plastic bag litter that has accumulated in the past 30 years. Thames21 points out that while the attitudes of some have changed – this must now extend beyond charity volunteers and the most major retailers, to all sections of the community.
Vast expanses of river that normally remain covered on regular tides will be exposed for a brief period on Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd March, illustrating some of London’s worst affected locations for litter.
The two day clean up event will be launched at the Isle of Dogs, East London, home to one of London’s worst plastic bag litter spots. Staff volunteers from supermarket retailers will be attending the first day to help remove plastic bag litter. Up to 800 volunteers from London’s residential and business community will be mobilised to help in the effort at further events in Fulham, North Woolwich and Hammersmith. Plastic litter is not only an eyesore which deters people from using and enjoying the Thames, it permanently endangers wildlife, both in the river and when it is washed out to sea.
Over the past ten years, more than 2,500 volunteers have helped ‘clean’ the Isle of Dogs foreshore alone, and have helped remove approximately 250,000 plastic bags. What was once a dense carpet of plastic bag litter in mud is now visibly improved, yet far from the clean, green foreshore it has the potential to be – as the lowest tide for five years will reveal. Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said:
“Rubbish and carrier bags cause huge environmental damage and are a real eyesore so it’s great to see volunteers and Thames21 taking action to clear our rivers. “People and supermarkets have made real progress in nearly halving the amount they use and opting for more sustainable alternatives – but the fact that people are still clearing up plastic bags from the Thames shows there’s still a lot of work to do.” Local resident Jenny Barraclough OBE, said:
“Although next to Canary Wharf and opposite the beautiful Royal Naval College, our beach used to be disgusting, full of plastic bags. As a local resident I’ve witnessed a vast improvement to the beaches around here due to the magnificent work of the Thames21 volunteers over the last ten years. I have the greatest admiration for them and their ongoing efforts to improve this area.” Debbie Leach, Chief Executive, Thames21, said: “The Isle of Dogs shows the worst of London, yet it also shows the best of Londoners. Huge improvements have been made to the river by our volunteers. Steps have also been made by many supermarkets in discouraging disposable plastic bag use. We now need to get the message out to the whole retail sector, and to the whole population.
Every volunteer who leaves the Thames foreshore after an event with us is a transformed plastic bag user – vowing to change how they use and dispose of plastic bags. Thames21 is committed to transforming London’s waterways back to health with the help of our volunteers over the coming years.” Ruth Giradet, CR & Community Director, Tesco said:
"Tesco is working hard to help our customers use fewer plastic bags. By giving customers free green clubcard points for re-using bags, and making a range of attractive and affordable alternatives available, our customers are now using more than 50% fewer carrier bags than they did in August 2006. For any waste that still arises, we offer recycling facilities to our customers, and we are now diverting 100% of our store waste from landfill.
The Thames21 Deep Clean event is a great opportunity for our staff to demonstrate our commitments in a practical way." Russell Cattell, Branch Manager, Waitrose Canary Wharf, comments: “We're delighted to support Thames21 and our volunteers are looking forward to getting their wellies on for the event. Like Thames21, Waitrose is committed to reducing the number of plastic bags in the environment, and through a range of initiatives our customers are now using half the bags they were just a few years ago." Mike Barry, Head of Sustainable Business at Marks & Spencer, said: "We support the efforts of Thames21 and wish them all the success with the clean-up events. At M&S we have reduced the use of carrier bags in our food business by 83 per cent, saving 387 million carrier bags last year. We're committed to going even further and stretching our Plan A targets on waste and packaging on our journey to making our business as sustainable as possible." Iain Ferguson, Environment Manager at The Co-operative Food, said: "The number of plastic bags given away at our food stores has fallen by 60% in the past three years, outperforming the overall industry result. We believe the reduction is the result of working both with staff and customers to raise awareness of the issues involved, which has prompted a hugely encouraging response. In our food stores, Co-operative customers are offered a range of reusable bags including the Fairtrade Cotton 'Bag for a Better Life' at 97p, and a plastic 'Bag for Life' at 10p, which we will replace for free and then recycle.” Karen Todd, Corporate Affairs, Asda, said: "At Asda we are working hard to reduce the number of carrier bags used by focussing on changes in customer and colleague behaviour and in May last year we exceeded government reductions targets.
"We have launched lots of initiatives to help customers avoid having to use single trip bags, by having bag for life giveaways, putting checkout operators in control of the number of bags they hand out and by reminding customers through car park signage each time they visit, to remember to bring their bags with them." Zac Goldsmith, Conservative Candidate for Richmond Park, said: “The Low Tide days are a perfect opportunity for Londoners and London’s retailers to demonstrate a united front against plastic litter.
Despite reduction measures in recent years, there’s still a lot of work to be done to change attitudes when it comes to using and disposing of plastic bags. The Thames riverbed shows the huge impact plastic bag litter can have on our environment and wildlife.
Thames21’s work in cleaning-up the Thames foreshore highlights this is a key London issue, and one that we all have a responsibility to reduce and prevent in years to come.” Councilor Tony McAlmont (Newham) said: “The low tide on March 3 creates the perfect opportunity to get rid of all the litter that’s sitting on the foreshore, damaging our environment. “I urge everyone to donate a few hours of their time and help make a big difference.” Volunteers are invited to do as much or as little as they are willing to and are advised to wear old clothes. Boots and gloves will be provided. All Thames21 volunteers will be able to join the Orange RockCorps Collective, where they can share their volunteering story and will all be in line for a great music based reward. Volunteers should turn up at one of the following locations and times: TUESDAY 2 MARCH
location_one: ISLE OF DOGS
meet: Newcastle Draw Dock, off Saunders Ness Road, Isle of Dogs, E14
time: 8.00am – 10.30am
http://bit.ly/b7anKl location_two: FULHAM
meet: Bishop’s Park (gate entrance to foreshore), near Bishop’s Park Road, Fulham, SW6
time: 9.30am – 12.30pm
http://bit.ly/9jzEvN WEDNESDAY 3 MARCH
location_one: NORTH WOOLWICH
meet: Barge House Road, North Woolwich, Newham, E16
time: 8.30am – 11.00am
http://bit.ly/cqshJQ location_two: HAMMERSMITH meet: on the Thames Path, south side of Hammersmith Bridge, SW13
time: 11.00am – 1.30pm
http://bit.ly/dnkVIi Please contact us in advance if you have any access requirements. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Media enquiries, images and interviews: please contact James Aldous on 020 7213 0166 or 07827 352675 or james.aldous@thames21.org.uk
Cameras welcome. Photographers/reporters are advised to wear old clothes as the site can be very muddy. Boots will be provided. Thames21 is an environmental charity (registered number 1103997) working to bring London’s waterways to life. Dirty rivers and canals reduce the quality of life for all, harm and kill wildlife, damage the environment and drive people away from vital open spaces. London’s rivers and canals are precious natural resources providing green spaces for urban communities and habitats for wildlife. Each year, with the help of around 8,000 volunteers, Thames21 removes over 1,000 tonnes of harmful litter from the River Thames, its tributaries and the canal network. www.thames21.org.uk Follow Thames21’s updates on Twitter – www.twitter.com/thames21
· Thames21 is supported by, and works closely with, the Port of London Authority, Thames Water, Environment Agency, Corporation of London, Keep Britain Tidy and British Waterways.
· The Orange RockCorps Collective inspires others to become part of a growing community of Collective volunteers. Anyone who has given four hours volunteering can join the Orange RockCorps Collective and be in the running for fantastic weekly prize draws and music events. Volunteers join online and just tell Orange RockCorps when, where and what they did, from mentoring to fundraising, helping out in their local school or cleaning the Thames. For more information go to: www.orangerockcorps.co.uk James Aldous Marketing Manager Thames21 – bringing London’s waterways to life Walbrook Wharf City of London Corporation 78-83 Upper Thames Street LONDON EC4R 3TD sign-up to our monthly e-newsletter and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
T 020 7213 0166
M 07827 352675
E james.aldous@thames21.org.uk
W www.thames21.org.uk
Registered charity number 1103997
Lowest tide will reveal London’s plastic bag litter legacy