With more than 1300 attendees, Wales achieved a new world record for voluntary river cleaning.
It happened on Friday, from its source in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, also known as Brecon Beacons, to Cardiff Bay.
World Record for Voluntary River Cleaning
The previous record was 329 people, set on the Ganges River in India in February, and now 1327 participated.
Kate Strong, who organized the project called Taff Tidy, told the BBC that she believed the “best way” to raise awareness about “the importance of caring for our health and the natural world” was to motivate with a world record.
“I think we don’t talk enough about what we can do every day to help our rivers,” she expressed.
“Yes, we are organizing a world record cleaning event by picking up our trash, but the food we eat at home directly affects our river systems, what we flush down the toilets directly affects our river systems,” Strong added.
“That’s why I really believe we must take care of our freshwater system that sustains life,” emphasized the former triathlon champion and holder of multiple world records for static cycling.
The event lasted 30 minutes, and a Guinness World Records judge evaluated the evidence gathered at eight locations before announcing a result.
Louise Tambini, from the charity organization Keep Wales Tidy, says that Taff was particularly vulnerable to the effects of garbage and Cardiff “gets the worst of it.”
“There are many rivers that flow into the Taff, so in the event of a flood (and we have many), tons and tons of waste are dragged along the river,” she explained.
One of the Most Polluted in Wales
In the 1970s, the Taff River basin was one of the most polluted in Wales. This was a consequence of the industrial heritage of the valleys in South Wales.
“This basin achieved significant improvement in water quality and the environment, but in recent times, that improvement has slowed down,” expressed Gail Davies-Walsh from Afonydd Cymru to the same local media.
She added that reports from the environmental regulator Natural Resources Wales (NRW) did not show improvements in three years, and there are emerging concerns about chemicals and ammonia affecting the fish.
On the other hand, Rhian Thomas, sustainable water manager at NRW, said they were “driving improvements through robust water regulation and a response to pollution incidents.”
The new Welsh government law banning the supply of certain single-use plastic products will help reduce the flow of plastic pollution into our environment.
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