Climate conscious groups in Lincolnshire join nationwide Million Miles Clean

Climate conscious groups are out in force over the weekend removing plastic pollution and junk from Lincolnshire as part of a major national campaign.
Lincolnshire Climate Conscious Students on a previous litter pick in Skegness.Lincolnshire Climate Conscious Students on a previous litter pick in Skegness.
Lincolnshire Climate Conscious Students on a previous litter pick in Skegness.

The Million Mile Clean has been launched by Surfers Against Sewage and will see the groups removing litter from greenspaces, streets and waterways across the county.

Nationwide, 100,000 volunteers will paddle and walk 10 miles to clean the places they love.

Lincolnshire s effort starts in Cleethorpes at Meridian Line Car Park at 9.30am until 11.30am.

Then Lincoln Canoe Club start on the Brayford in Lincoln at 10am. Volunteers will collect plastic pollution from the River Witham and Fossdyke, returning for 12noon when the junk will be sorted to track the most common packaging brands found around the UK.

Plastic Free Lincoln will also start at The Plough Pub, Newark Road, Riverside Path at 10am and finish at 12pm.

Lincolnshire Climate Conscious Students will start at Skegness Pier at 1pm and finish at 3pm.

Other clean-ups are taking place at the following locations and the members of the public are welcome to join in:

Cleethorpes – Meridian Line Car Park, 9.30pm to 11.30am.

Boston Witham (Plastic Free Boston)– Witham Bank East/Fydell Street Junction, 1pm to 3pm.

Boston Skirbeck (Plastic Free Boston) – Windsor Bank/Skirbeck Road/Fishtoft Road Junction, 1pm to 3pm.

Horncastle (Plastic Free Horncastle) – Coronation Walk Car Park, 1pm to 3pm.

Ruskington (Plastic Free Sleaford) – Ruskington Library, 1pm to 3pm.

Organisers say the Covid-19 crisis has seen more people than ever before wanting to enjoy our rivers and green spaces for recreation.

The physical health of our nation is inextricably linked to that of the environment around us and yet, shockingly, every day approximately eight million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans.

Studies have suggested that 94% of the plastic that ends up in the ocean eventually sinks to the ocean floor with an estimated 14m tonnes littering the bottom of our oceans.

Plastic is strong and durable meaning it never really breaks down. A plastic bottle can last for 450 years in the marine environment, slowly breaking down into smaller pieces which eventually end up microscopic but never truly go away. This means that every piece of plastic that has ever been produced is still with us, in some form

Victoria Haw, who runs Plastic Free Boston, says: "All of these local groups have organised a coordinated event to support the Surfers Against Sewage National Million Miles Clean-up campaign.

"In Boston, there are many selfless people going out daily to clean up the streets, river banks of Boston. This event is adding to the fabulous work of the local Wombles group.

"This is the first time a county wide event has run. With recent weather the wildlife has taken a battering and lots of rubbish risks finding it's way into the waterways. This clean up aims to lessen the impact.’

Theo Griffiths, LCCS’s group coordinator who will be at the Skegness clean-up, said: "It’s absolutely amazing to see all of these organisations have teamed up to point out how much of an issue this, and to help clean up our streets."

Chantelle Grundy, Clear Access Clear Waters Campaigner at Lincoln Canoe Club, says ‘‘It’s great to see so many community groups coming together.

"We have some fantastic waterways in Lincoln which are enjoyed greatly by our members, sadly we also see the

plastic pollution and junk which accumulates on the water and in the waterside vegetation, however we are able to retrieve some of this from our kayaks.

"Single use plastic is not only a threat to wildlife through entanglement and ingestion, but also contributes to carbon emissions and the climate crisis.

"Removing the plastic pollution in Lincolnshire removes the danger it poses locally but also highlights the need for policy change in relation to the use of single-use plastics.’

Louise Brown from Plastic Free Lincoln said: "We’re really excited to be part of the Million Mile Clean and plan to continue to care for this little patch of our riverbank as part of Plastic Free Lincoln’s community action."

For more information visit Lincolnshire Climate Conscious Students on Facebook.

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