Canal charity to donate hundreds of free litter pickers to help families join in with its plastics challenge this half term

Plastics challenge Saira Khan and family collect litter

This February half term the Canal & River Trust charity is sending out free litter pickers to the first people who sign up to its #PlasticsChallenge campaign to help clear the nation’s waterways of plastic litter.  

New research from the waterways and wellbeing charity identified that one of the key barriers to families getting involved in litter picking is a lack of suitable equipment.

By providing free litter pickers, thanks to the support of players of People’s Postcode Lottery, the trust is hoping to attract more adults and children to their local canal to tackle the litter problem currently afflicting the world’s waterways.

The same research found that getting outdoors and taking action to help the environment can inspire a satisfying feel-good factor for adults and children alike.

“You know you end up coming home with big bags of litter, and they're like wow Mummy look, look how much we collected. You know there's a feel-good achievement factor there, definitely,” reported one participant.

Children especially reported feeling happy when they got involved in litter picking on their local canal, which then had the added benefit of protecting local wildlife. One young participant said: “We can save the world by picking up rubbish”.

The trust, which cares for 2,000 miles of waterways in England and Wales, hopes that by supporting more families to become #PlasticsChallenge champions, it will help prevent some of the half a million pieces of plastic potentially reaching the oceans every year.

This will bring a major boost for waterway wildlife that make the canals their home, as well as improving the wellbeing of families taking part.

Tom King, North West ecologist at the Canal & River Trust, said: “Fourteen million pieces of plastic end up in the nation’s canals and rivers each year. Single-use plastic is one of the greatest threats to the environment and the wonderful habitats found along our canals. I hope that our campaign will help more people to get involved and have a positive impact in their local area.”

To take part in #PlasticsChallenge, simply pledge support online at www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/plasticschallenge from 10am on Monday 14 February to be eligible to receive a free litter picker through the post.

Stocks are limited with 500 litter pickers available.