'Volume of plastic pollution in Bann is shocking' say Alliance councillors who took part in clean-up

Councillors Lee Kane and Peter McCully, alongside local party activists, joined the effort led by Sea2it, a local not-for-profit organisation dedicated to conserving our marine and freshwater coastal environments.

Part of the Big Spring Clean, volunteers left in a small boat from Drumaheglis Marina, stopping along the route to clear a 160m section of the riverbank outside Ballymoney.

Over the course of the morning, the group collected over a dozen bags of rubbish, containing more than 370kg of plastic and glass pollution.

“The sheer volume of plastic pollution along the riverbank is shocking,” commented Cllr Peter McCully.

“It is clear that some of these bottles and wrappers have been lying here for years, and the vegetation has grown over them, turning the bank into a carpet of plastic rubbish.

"It’s no wonder that birds and animals are finding it harder to survive here, when this is what we are doing to their natural habitat.”

Sea2it has been leading the campaign to clean up the river, its banks, and the onshore coastal waters around the north coast. They do this through direct volunteer-led environmental activities, such as marine and freshwater litter collections, invasive species action, outfall safari, and conservation angling and monitoring programmes.

Richard Connor, Volunteer Director at Sea2it, said: “Today’s clean-up is a huge step towards removing another section of plastic waste blighting our beautiful riverbank. We removed an astonishing amount of waste, mostly single use plastic drinks, but also agricultural waste and cuttings of drainage pipes.

“Sadly the challenge is both historic and new waste. And the scale of the issue is staggering,” he said.

"Sea2it’s physical litter picks on the riverbank are methodical, dealing with sections of low energy within the river system.

“These are the sections that are the key areas for accumulating this waste. Our river is a stunning natural resource. It is well worth protecting,” Connor continued.

While the volunteers found a worrying amout of used veterinary agricultural medicine containers during the clean-up, the vast majority of litter recovered, over 94%, was single-use plastics.

Ballymoney Councillor, Lee Kane, previously proposed changes to the licensing of concessions trading in Causeway Coast and Glens, which has led to a ban on single-use plastics at council sites from 1 April this year.

“While we should be grateful to organisations like Sea2it, and support them in the great work they are doing to clean up the banks of the river, the best way for us to cut down the levels of litter is to not produce it in the first place,” Cllr Kane said.

“If you have a plastic drinks bottle, take it home and put it in your blue bin. If you have a carton or tray that is compostable, stick it in the brown bin. If you have rubbish that can’t be recycled or composted, put it in the black bin. Just these simple actions will make a huge difference.”

Sea2it offers regular opportunities for individuals and groups to get involved and make a difference to their local freshwater, marine and coastal environments. For more information on becoming a volunteer visit www.sea2it.org