Around 39 million items of litter would end up on our canals every year if we didn't take action, with over half being plastic. Here are some simple ways to help reduce litter pollution.
Litter along our waterways damages vital waterside habitats, destroys delicate ecosystems, impacts our water quality, and endangers species such as aquatic birds, water voles and otters.
But the problem doesn't end there. Every year, approximately 740,000 items of litter leave our UK canals and rivers and enter the word's oceans. Over half of these (57%) are made of plastic.
Although it seems like an enormous problem to solve, there are lots of things you can do that will help reduce plastic and litter waste.
1. Use resuable bottles and cups
Disposable cups may look and feel like cardboard, but they have a thin plastic lining to keep the liquid inside. To avoid these single-use containers, make sure you have a refillable bottle, flask or travel mug with you when you're out and about.
2. Use bags for life
Remember to take your own reusable bags every time you go shopping so that you don't have to buy a plastic bag. There are plenty of options made from strong natural materials, such as jute and cotton.
3. Avoid fast fashion
Fast fashion items are often made of materials that contain plastic, such as polyester and nylon. This means that they shed tiny plastic fibres as you wear them and when they're washed, especially in the first few washes. These particles find their way through water treatment plants and end up in the rivers and oceans.
When you buy clothes, choose natural materials, such as cotton, linen, bamboo and hemp.
4. Boaters: separate your recyclables and make use of recycling facilities
All our customer service points with waste facilities for boaters now provide separate bins for dry recyclables, glass, food waste and general waste. Make sure you're disposing of your waste in the correct way.
5. Choose glass or cans
When buying things, help to reduce the amount of plastic in circulation by opting for glass or cans. Glass and cans get recycled back into more of the same, while plastic bottles generally get reprocessed into something else. This just creates more opportunities for bits of plastic to enter our environment and cause damage.
Litter can harm wildlife that lives on and around canals.
6. Avoid using cling film and tin foil
Aluminium foil and cling film use a lot of resources to produce, and cling film can't be recycled. When packing your lunch, put it in re-useable containers or use eco-friendly cling film alternatives, such as beeswax wraps.
7. Take your rubbish with you
When you're out for a canaslide walk, cycle or boat trip, keep hold of your rubbish and dispose of it in the right way when you leave our waterways.
8. Avoid glitter
Glitter is used in an enormous range of products, from clothing to shower gel. Most glitter is made from plastic and the small size of its particles makes it hard to filter out of wastewater, meaning it becomes a potential ecological hazard in our canals, rivers and oceans. You can get eco-friendly alternatives to glitter nowadays.
9. Boaters: choose natural fenders
Instead of using plastic fenders or tyres on your boat, choose ones made of natural rope. Make sure they're appropriately secured so that they don't drop off and become another piece of rubbish in the water.
10. Do a litter pick and log it on our map
Gather your friends and family, and plan a litter pick aloing one of our towpaths. Log your efforts on our interactive map, so we can continue help us build a clearer picture of the action being taken, which will help support our plans to protect canals for everyone to enjoy.
