Grantham RiverCare volunteers discover ‘vintage litter’, including glass bottle aged at least 160 years old, following River Witham flooding

katie.green@iliffepublishing.co.uk

Published: 05:00, 03 February 2025

Volunteers discovered ‘vintage litter’ including a 160-year-old bottle while they were cleaning a river in the aftermath of devastating flooding.

Grantham RiverCare volunteers held an emergency clean up in the aftermath of some of the worst flooding to hit the town in 40 years, at the start of January.

During their clean up, volunteers discovered a range of ‘vintage litter’ that rose to the surface of the river as a result of the flooding, including a glass bottle that is believed to be at least 160 years old.

David Martin and Ian Simmons, co-leads of Grantham RiverCare, say that the discovery of this old litter is a “powerful reminder of the long-lasting consequences of littering”.

The bottle discovered was inscribed with ‘Imperial, Pick & Company, Westgate, Grantham’, referring to a shop that was based in Westgate in the 1800’s.

The bottle is believed to be at least 160 years old

Other litter found was a Strike Cola can, a Pepsi can from the 1980s, KFC wrappers, a plastic bag for Key Markets believed to be around 40 years old and a Consort Cola Can believed to be from the 1970s.

A Key Markets plastic bag believed to be around 40 years old.

Ian added: “Based on our previous experience, this type of litter isn’t a common find.

“It is amazing what the river will turnover. Most of this stuff has been sitting at the bottom of the riverbank for years.

“When we get a situation like the flooding, you will get a turnover of this kind of stuff.

“Because of the longevity of this stuff, it will stick around for years, even centuries, and we will not be here for centuries to clean it up.”

Also during the clean up, the 14 volunteers found a large beanbag that had split, resulting in “hundreds of thousands - possibly more” plastic beads spreading throughout the river.