Keep Wales Tidy say more needs to be done to cut pollution in the River Taff.
Pollution levels in the river have fallen over the past twenty years, but it’s still full of rubbish, much of which gathers in Cardiff.
Amy Lloyd from Keep Wales Tidy says: “The River Taff has been transformed since the days of heavy industry which has allowed plants and fish to really thrive, but we can’t take that for granted and the litter in and around the river presents a real threat to aquatic life.”
The charity is organising a weekend of events to encourage volunteers to clear rubbish from the river banks, with local businesses also involved by providing staff to help with the clean.
Beverley Wookey, Sales Director at Redrow Homes South Wales, says:
“This particular part of the river we walk up regularly and you can just see it deteriorating when people are throwing rubbish everywhere, so it’s great to be involved and to get to clean it up.”
Cardiff University professor, Steve Ormerod has been studying the pollution in the river since the ’80s. He says there has been an improvement in urban rivers.
“These are rivers that have dramatically improved over time but there are still problems with things like litter, plastics and unusual pollutants like drugs that are passed through the sewage works.
“Litter breaks down and can be digested by the smallest of organisms and brought into food chains.
“We don’t quite know what the effect of that might be.”
The event will finish at Cardiff Bay on Sunday.
