Cleaner Thames Campaign

Having been in partnership with the Port of London for many years, the recently launched campaign, ‘Cleaner Thames’ has really resonated with us here at mso. As we often find when we collaborate on mini projects, the subject matter fuels internal debate in the office and this campaign in particular got us all thinking.

The ‘Cleaner Thames’ campaign was launched at the end of 2015 Totally Thames Festival and will last until the next festival in 2016. The campaign wants to try and make a difference and stop people putting their rubbish in the River Thames. The PLA has 16 barges along the Thames and these ‘passive driftwood collectors’ are not just picking up tree branches, but huge amounts of plastic.

Things found in the Thames:

• Water bottles
• Cigarette packs
• Carrier bags

Explorer Paul Rose is launching a series of YouTube videos to explain what is happening and to put the message out there to ‘Do the Right Thing’. As he says, ‘It’s so hard to get the message across, but we have a great opportunity here to get people to understand this global problem.’ He wants people to ‘take ownership’ and in terms of rubbish, ‘put it in your pocket and take it home’.

Did you know?

• 300 tonnes of waste is taken from the Thames annually
• 90% of fish in the thames were found with plastic in their gut

Dr Dave Morritt who is one of the Royal Holloway’s research study team goes further and explains that by looking at just two species, common flounder and Chinese mitten crabs, it’s obvious that there is a serious issue of plastic waste in the waterway:

‘Our study begs the question of just how much plastic is in the Thames and that’s exactly what this campaign will do and hopefully put an end to it.’

For more information head to http://www.pla.co.uk/cleaner-thames-about to read about their campaign in more detail. Also check out Paul Rose’s website – http://www.paulrose.org to see more of his campaigns and projects.