2000 trolleys removed from Welsh River
Following a recent, major clean up operation in South Wales 2,000 tyres, 100 trolleys, a fridge and over 3 tonnes of scrap metal were pulled from the River Ogmore.
Prof. Carlos Garcia de Leaniz was interviewed by the BBC on the impact that fly-tipping has on the rivers and its fish species:
"We have a fantastic array of sensitive species" but they are swimming in waterways filled with toxic rubbish," he said. "When you burn these tyres you're releasing toxic volatile compounds - in rubber it can accumulate in aquatic organisms, this is not going to be something aquatic life has evolved to cope with."
Having seen similar cases during his research of other main rivers in Wales, he has called on people to take extra care of the environment.
"Water is going to be so important in the future, it's going to play such a role in combating and fighting climate change,it's shown to improve air quality but if [rivers] are not clean then society is not getting the full benefits of these blue infrastructures."
The full article can be read here