Grantham Rivercare members use dumped trolleys to carry away rubbish

Grantham Rivercare recovered three shopping trolleys from the Witham when members began their clean-up at the weekend.

The Rivercare volunteers were back in action on Saturday. Starting from Bridge End Road, the shopping trolleys were found within the first hundred metres. The trolleys were removed and used to cart rubbish to the collection points along the way.

Rivercare leader John Knowles said: “Rivercare have always struggled to get supermarkets more interested in the return of their trolleys which is surprising as they cost several hundred pounds each. Some success has been achieved with Sainsbury’s but not with Asda despite several attempts. Morrison’s trolleys do not seem to find their way into the river, probably because they require a pound coin to take them away.

“As compared with previous clean-ups, the volume of rubbish collected was relatively light. Although this is encouraging it is in part due to the growth of vegetation alongside the river at this time of year so much of the rubbish cannot be seen. However, there were still a dozen sacks of rubbish collected comprising mainly bottles, cans and fast food wrappers together with a table, a traffic cone, a small safe (police notified) and of course the trolleys.

“Having finished the clean-up at the white bridge in Wyndham Park, members of the group were treated to refreshments at the Park cafe, thanks to the generosity of Cindy and Sainsbury’s.”

Fiona McKenna, Project Officer for Lincolnshire Rivers Trust, joined in the clean-up and afterwards took a look at the Himalayan Balsam which is growing alongside the river near Harrowby Lodge. Himalayan Balsam is invasive and damaging to the riverside environment and so it is the intention of the group, under the guidance of Fiona, to remove it later in the summer.

The next clean-up is scheduled for August 15. Anyone interested in taking part should contact Rivercare leader John Knowles on johnknowles1843@outlook.com