14 bags of litter & large sack of dog poo!

What a fantastic turn out for our last litter pick of the year last Saturday (December 7, 2019).

We removed litter along the canal from the YMCA in Bridgwater to Brownes Pond on Taunton Road.

Eleven new volunteers joined us, which was brilliant. Lots of people got into the festive spirit and dressed up in their Christmas jumpers and Santa hats.

In total, we collected 14 black bags of rubbish including lots of glass bottles and cans as well as traffic cones and the standard crisp packets and sweet wrappers. We also managed to fill a black bin bag full of dog poo bags!

We were astonished with the amount of dog waste on the towpath. It seems some dog walkers will bag the poo up and then just leave the bag on the towpath. We’d really like to encourage all dog walkers to place their poo bags in the bins provided along the canal. Some of our volunteers also stepped in the poo that had just been left on the path, so please bag and dispose of it correctly.

It’s not all dog walkers that leave their poo bags, but we would love to see less dog mess on the towpath in 2020. So maybe a New Year’s resolution for some dog owners out there?

We once again would like to thank the Inland Waterway Association Somerset Volunteers for aiding us with the litter pick. Thanks also to the YMCA for lending us its kayaks and canoes free of charge and to the Purplespoon Café for its discount to our volunteers.

Our next litter pick will take place on Saturday, January 25 from the YMCA George Williams Centre on Friarn Avenue. It will start from 9.50am and run until 12.30pm.

We will paddle/walk towards the Bridgwater Docks following the canal collecting rubbish from both the waterway and the towpath. We have bin bags, litter pickers and bag hoops for volunteers to use free of charge. Kayaks and canoes can also be booked here.