The SCA’s “Clear Water” litter picking initiative takes place throughout the month of April and we need your help.  First run in 2008 we are now organising Clear Water 2010.

 

We are asking clubs and individual paddlers to make an even greater effort than normal to pick up litter from one of their favourite stretches of water during the month of April. We are not stipulating a particular date, just anytime in April.

The amount of effort required is not great. We just want paddlers to make a difference to the places where we paddle by mixing an element of litter picking with a normal day out on the water. If you could let us know in advance which stretch of water you plan to clean then that would be great, but if you just write in to us afterwards and let us know what you’ve done that will still be gratefully accepted as a contribution to this project.

In choosing to address the issue of river and beach litter the SCA is encouraging something that was growing rapidly in any case. We therefore wanted to react to this groundswell and get more people onboard with the habit of clearing up the litter that gets left behind or washes up on and around the places where we paddle.

What we are asking members to do is choose a day in April and pick litter on a stretch of river or coast. We expect that most clubs will incorporate the litter pick into a normal club trip.

To register please send an e-mail with your club name & chosen stretch of water to Mike Dales.

We’re not stipulating a set date in case of bad weather on that day or because you may have your own existing commitments; so any day in April will do.

Your local authority should be able to help you with equipment and disposal of the waste after the event. If you contact them in advance they should be able to provide you with rubber gloves, bin bags & so on.

If you choose to clear a beach on the coast then the Marine Conservation Society Scotland can offer you additional help, so it would be worth contacting them on 0131 226 2391.

 

The SCA aims to generate national publicity about the litter issue as a result of organising Clear Water, but your club might also wish to create its own local publicity by highlighting what you have done in your own area. We would encourage you to do that and to mention the national initiative that your efforts form a part of.

 

Whilst we do not want clubs to see this as an imposition, we do hope that most clubs will see the reasons for it and join in and make their contribution to a cleaner and healthier environment in which to go paddling.  When you write in to tell us about your contribution to Clear Water we would like you to mention:

Whilst the SCA wishes to publicise the problems associated with litter, especially in and around water, we accept that mass litter picks are not the ultimate solution to this problem. From a recreational point of view we believe that everyone taking their recreation in the countryside should remove at least one piece of litter every time they go out. That simple act of everyone picking up a piece of litter every time would make a huge difference. Eventually, however, we need to really get tough on those who drop litter and leave their rubbish lying around the countryside.

 

Beach litter is an international problem that was clearly demonstrated to the SCA’s Access & Environment Officer Mike Dales when he paddled round Jura in 2000. On a beautiful beach on the west coast Mike found two pieces of plastic litter – a margarine tub and a small tablets bottle. One was from Nova Scotia and the other from Newfoundland!

By running the Clear Water initiative it gives the SCA an opportunity to point paddlers to other organisations working in this area of addressing the scourge of litter.

The BBC ran a series of news items on plastic litter in March 2008, which included this startling story