Maintenance and river dredging in the River Chelmer has resulted in massive amounts of plastic waste being dredged up onto the sides of the river. With the help of another local group based in Chelmsford, Trevor Baker, our Senior HSEQ Manager, and volunteers from the SUPsect Paddleboarding Club took to the water. It was a freezing, sunny January morning and the group cleared as much as they could.

The windy, wintery weather at the start of February meant it wasn’t safe to take to the water. So, Trevor and a team of volunteers did two litter picks from the banks of the River Crouch.

“They were a huge undertaking in the end. The first litter pick went from Hullbridge towards Battlesbridge, along the coast path. We collected a huge amount of plastic waste, mainly old plastic bottles and cans.

“The second was from Battlesbridge towards Hullbridge, which involved getting permissions to access private land. It was well worth the extra work as even in gale force winds, we managed to remove 45 bags of rubbish, a fridge, eight plastic oil drums, and various building materials and waste from a recent fire,”

said Trevor.

Let’s hope the next river cleans see some finer and calmer weather.