Eight shopping trolleys, eight traffic cones, 30 bags of general rubbish…and there was more!

The setting wasn’t the local tip, but the River Nene between Orton Longueville and the Town Bridge in Peterborough and the event was a major clean-up organised by Anglian Water as part of World Rivers Day. A Peterborough Nene RiverCare Group was set up by Martin Ballard, Contracts Performance Manager, Asset Management, and together with Thorpe Wood House Building Co-ordinator Irene Pollock, who organised the volunteers for the day.

20 people, including Anglian Water employees and representatives from the Alliance, the Environment Agency and Natural England, worked their way down the two-mile route picking up litter from the bank side and the river’s edge. Their haul included trolleys, the cones and the bags of mixed rubbish that Peterborough City Council took away. “The result was hugely satisfying, although the amount of rubbish was astounding! We could not have moved the heavier items if it weren’t for the help of Mr Steeple and Rail World’s tractor and trailer.” said Martin. “It was a great joint effort and we will repeat it twice a year now, hopefully involving more people from across Peterborough.”

RiverCare Project Co-ordinator Greg Hall added: “It was great to see volunteers from different organisations coming together and making such a difference to the stretch of river. It was one of the best clean-ups that I have been involved with to date.”

www.rivercare.org.uk