October 29, 2018 11.43 am This story is over 64 months old

Lincoln Canoe Club clean up local waterways

Part of a shed was among the items collected

Around 40 passionate Lincoln Canoe Club members paddled on the Brayford Pool and along the Fossdyke canal and Upper Witham over the weekend as part of the national Autumn Beach and Rivers Clean initiative.

Over two sessions the team collected 13 sacks of plastic bottles, cans, polystyrene and other litter over two sessions on Saturday and Sunday (October 27-28).

In a variety of craft from open canoes to stand up paddleboards, the team retrieved a lot of other rubbish items including two road cones, a handbag, a road sign, two garden forks, part of a shed and a bean bag cover.

13 sacks of plastic bottles were collected as part of the clean-up.

Chantelle Grundy from British Canoeing and a member of Lincoln Canoe club said: “It’s been really rewarding for our members to remove hard to reach litter from the Brayford Pool and Upper Witham River, to help protect this really special environment which we all love from plastic pollution.”

Lincoln Canoe Club is affiliated to British Canoeing and next month British Canoeing will be launching its Access and Environment Charter in Westminster. As part of this it is pledging to continue to protect and improve the health of the rivers, addressing plastic in the waterways.

Some of the team who took part in Lincoln Canoe Club’s clean-up of the local waterways.

The Autumn Beach and River Clean Series, which is led by community organisations like Lincoln Canoe Club, is one third bigger than previous clean ups and is the biggest across Europe. Nationally it hopes to remove over 35 tonnes of plastic pollution from the environment.