The Thames is Rubbishy

[chuckaduck]

should read full of rubbish but got your attention LOL /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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Recently I have noticed A dramatic increase in debris on the tidal thames. it is most prevelant in the putney area and is very dangerous

We are used to seeing tree branches and drink bottles etc but this rubbish is building stuff a water tank ( plastic ) numerous lumps of building ( cut ) planks and wood, buckets and more

sometimes negotiating the flotsam is a constant job and once we saw some take out the sterndrive of a cruiser leaving it without drive and had to be towed by the RNLI

yesterday I even Had to warn a robo who was heading for a large bit of wood now thats a first !! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

It seems to me that the rubbish is coming from fly tippers there

2 points should the PLA do a clean up ?

and should they take steps to deter / catch flytippers ?

Lastly should we complain ? point this out to the PLA

ie with not just one of us but as a group ?

[byron]

Its bad but not as bad as it was when the big London Building Boom was on in the early 90s.

[alistairedw]

Lots of flotsam just above Richmond lock yesterday, but it seemed to be mostly twigs, branches etc rather than stuff that had been dumped.

Having said that at one point something 'non organic' hit my prop and almost stopped the engine.

PLA don't seem to collect flotsam around here anymore. Not much tree pruning going on either which might explain why there is so much tree debris in the river. Between Twickenham and Richmod there are loads of large branches which have dropped into the river.

I think the best way to get it sorted is probably to keep writing/e-mailing the PLA advising them of the problems and highlighting the risk to river users.

[alb40]

Come down to the lovely medway then!

We have gas bottles, whole trees, three piece suites, dead boats and skips to contend with!

There was actually a team out and about picking up alot of rubbish recently down here. I picked up a builders sack round the prop as i went past them. Ho hum /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

[Andrew_Fanner]

Last time I was in Allington Lock I shared it with, among other things, a car wheel, chestnut paling fence and several plastic sacks. The keeper did nothing to remove them while I was there.

Is the tidal litter the result of some big tides of late bringing stuff into the river that was previously high and dry on the foreshore? Failing that has one of the flotsam barges capsized?

[byron]

[ QUOTE ]
Last time I was in Allington Lock I shared it with, among other things, a car wheel, chestnut paling fence and several plastic sacks. The keeper did nothing to remove them while I was there.

Is the tidal litter the result of some big tides of late bringing stuff into the river that was previously high and dry on the foreshore? Failing that has one of the flotsam barges capsized?

[/ QUOTE ]

You think thats bad, last time I was in a Lock I shared it with 2 Narrowboats, hows that for rubbish.

[chuckaduck]

[ QUOTE ]



You think thats bad, last time I was in a Lock I shared it with 2 Narrowboats, hows that for rubbish. [ QUOTE ]


What makes me think you dont like narrowboats hmmm

[byron]

I adore Narrowboats when they are on the canals.

[chuckaduck]

Recently I have noticed A dramatic increase in debris on the tidal thames. it is most prevelant in the putney area and is very dangerous

We are used to seeing tree branches and drink bottles etc but this rubbish is building stuff ie water tanks ( plastic ) numerous lumps of building ( cut ) planks and wood, buckets and more

sometimes negotiating the flotsam is a constant job and once we saw some take out the sterndrive of a cruiser leaving it without drive and had to be towed by the RNLI

It seems to me that the rubbish is coming from fly tippers there

My main concern is for the safety of those in small craft ie sculls and dingies/rowing boats

Apart from a clear up is there anything that you can do to prevent / catch the tippers ?

If there is anything I can do do assist with this please contact me

Graeme

[alb40]

The litter is brought in by the tide, but it seems to build up rather than come and go. Christ knows where it all comes from, and big tides aren't required for it to generate. (big tides dont help though)

[chuckaduck]

seems to me it goes up and down with the tide but not really downstream ?

Btw no response from the pla yet

[alistairedw]

Richmond half tide lock gates trap a lot of debris. The flow brings it down and it builds up behind the gates. Then when the gates are lowered as the tide comes in rafts of debris head upstream towards Teddington.

I once tried to sail my Enterprise through a clump of twigs and ended up stranded on top of what turned out to be a very substantial raft of floating debris.

[Forbsie]

Me and my neighbour pulled out a very large and heavy sleeper (over 12') a couple of weeks ago that would have done untold damage to any but the largest vessels. It turned out to be brand new and some sort of heart timber which, now cut up, is going to form my stem post and his wheelhouse. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[boatone]

Downstream in the London stretch between Hammersmith and Tower Bridges there are some floating rubbish traps. They're a bit like lobster pots. Rubbish enters th eopen end and is trapped inside and, when the tide turns they swing round so that the open end is always upstream. Unfortunately theres not many of them and they only trap the smaller stuff.

The problem is just as bad on the non tidal stretch with yobboes chucking supermarket trolleys in the river etc. With the river being so shallow its very easy to pick up stuff on the bottom when its churned up by the prop. Last year I had a fouled prop 3 or four time in as many weeks. Once it needed a diver to remove industrial sheet plastic. Another time I had to have the stern lifted to clear light line, rope and fishing line (vicious stuff if it gets into your cutlass bearing) and another time I picked up a complete hooded fleece which I managed to clear eventually thru the weed hatch.

Who should I send the bills to?

[Andrew_Fanner]

[ QUOTE ]

Who should I send the bills to?

[/ QUOTE ]

The EA, pointing out that you want something back for your 12%. CCing it rather blatantly to your MP may prove effective, or at least raise awareness. Esepcially if the EA receive quite a lot of similar letters.

[chuckaduck]

here is a reply from my email to the PLA

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Dear Mr Perkins

1. Thank you for your email of September 27
2. I have spoken to colleagues and they agree with you that there has been more rubbish / debris in that part of the river in the recent period
3. Some of the rubbish in the river can be explained by a couple of recent storm events - as you will be aware such downpours / higher winds etc wash and blow more rubbish than usual from surrounding land and streets into the river
4. In addition we have had some higher tides recently and that will have meant more rubbish - including some larger items that may have been accumulating around the high water line - being brought into the river
5. Some of the larger plastic items is, we believe, blown by sudden gusts of wind into the river - eg from adjacent building sites. This is usually caused by careless acts on such building sites rather than deliberate dumping
6. However, undoubtedly, some of the larger rubbish is almost certainly deliberate acts of fly tipping
7. As you will be aware, fly tipping is a lucrative illegal trade - almost, dare I say, "professionally" run by organised gangs. Such people usually operate in the dead of night and are difficult to catch or identify
8. We do ask that people report any such activity both to us and to the local authority and our patrol boats also keep an eye open for flytipping along the river which may come into the river on big high waters.
9. With respect to the current rubbish in the Putney area, we are seeing whether we can deploy one of our 'Driftwood' clean up boats to there shortly, other urgent operational duties and tidal factors permitting
10. In your email you offer your possible assistance. As you are probably aware, the PLA was a founder member of Thames 21 - the environmental charity that works specifically to collect litter from the River foreshore. It works as a partnership comprising the PLA, Environment Agency, Thames Water, British Waterways London, and local authorities. In addition to its ongoing work, Thames 21 organises many events involving volunteers to clean up parts of the river and banks. More information on the work of Thames21 can be found at www.thames21.org.uk (http://www.thames21.org.uk)
11. The active assistance of local residents and other volunteers etc is very much encouraged. For example, residents in some locations near the Thames have successfully organised a group of volunteers to assist Thames21 in a clean up event in their local area. If you wish to explore this idea further, please contact Mr Vic Richardson at Thames21. His telephone number is 020 7213 0162. His email is vic.richardson@thames21.org.uk
12.
Thank you once again for raising this matter with us

Regards

Martin Garside
Port of London Authority
Tel: 01474 562366

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I think you would agree a positive and informative response