Regatta cleans up its act on litter

A BAN on single-use plastic by Henley Royal Regatta has paid off.

There was less waste than usual found by volunteers who took part in a clean-up of the river on Monday following the six-day event.

More than two dozen people, including 16 pupils from Shiplake College and regatta staff, took part in the operation using paddleboards to search the banks of the course.

It was the third year of the initiative, which is led by environmental campaigner Lynne Lambourne, founder of Warriors on Waste, and regatta chairman Sir Steve Redgrave.

The volunteers set off from near Leander Club and paddled up the course towards Upper Thames Rowing Club on the Berkshire bank.

After searching for litter next to the towpath in bushes, reeds and next to jetties, they crossed the river and searched the Buckinghamshire bank, including outside Phyllis Court Club before returning to the boat tents. As well as plastic bottles and cups, the finds included a walkie-talkie, two buoys and a coconut.

Sir Steve said he was pleased that less litter was found than in previous years.

He said: “It’s about good management, making sure that whatever impact the regatta has we are doing something positive too. We have a ban on single-use plastics throughout our site instead of using disposables. You get your own plastic mug for your drinks.

“We try to recycle everything. As we are on a greenfield site, we have to bring everything on site and make sure that we take everything off again.

“It’s a huge operation and we are very proud of what we are doing for the environment.

“The river is the lifeblood of the regatta and we take the process of responsibly dealing with waste very seriously.”

Sir Steve said the regatta had been working with waste management firm Grundon to ensure that any rubbish generated by the event was either recycled, composted or incinerated for energy.

Ms Lambourne, from Peppard, said: “It was relatively clean again, which is good news.

“We were pulling out single-use plastic cups and bits and pieces like that but I would say that year on year we are getting less.

“I know the regatta has come on in leaps and bounds and it’s a single-use plastic-free event now, so it’s working.”

Ms Lambourne, who fell in the water twice during the clean-up, added: “It’s about educating people to think twice about the binning situation at these events and taking ownership of it.

“This is a community event and it’s lovely for the kids to get out there and feel that they are returning their section of the river back to nature and what it should be.

“It also puts that little message in their minds about where actually does the plastic end up? The ocean.”

The waste was sorted into recyclables and non-recyclables and Ms Lambourne recorded it using an app called Debris Tracker.

Shiplake pupil Albie Bull, 14, pulled a bucket out of the reeds near Upper Thames Rowing Club.

He said: “I found a lot of plastic cups — lots of people found them — and a big cardboard box. I was expecting to find a lot of plastics but not the bucket.

“I had a really good time. It was fun and I’ve learnt that it’s really important to clean up after ourselves.”

Katherine Green, director of external relations at Shiplake, who joined the pupils, said they had enjoyed a friendly rivalry when collecting the waste.

She said: “It was good to see them keen to collect the most amount of litter and find the most unusual objects.

“They enjoyed themselves in the process and saw first-hand the importance of looking after the river and our local environment.

“This is the third year that Shiplake pupils have supported the clean-up and it’s brilliant to see the amount of litter has reduced once again, both in terms of items that have clearly been in the river for a long time as well as only a small amount of rubbish as a result of the regatta.”

The volunteers used paddleboards from Go With The Flo, which is based at the Eyot Centre, off Wargrave Road.

Nick Judd, who owns the business, said: “It is encouraging to see that the river is not quite as dirty as it has been in terms of litter.”

He said that cleaning the river was something anyone could do.

Mr Judd said: “There are lots of organised litter-picks. Warriors on Waste and Planet Patrol run them and we run them from our base.

“But anyone can take a plastic bag with them on their board. I’m pretty sure that everyone who paddles in the river will find something floating past them.”