Water waste! Guess what's being pulled out of our canals

While most of us know how, and where, to discard our rubbish correctly, there are some who will get rid of it literally anywhere - including the local canal.

Nationally, The Canal and River Trust spends around £1 million every year clearing dumped rubbish from the canal network and, considering they are a charity, it is cost they could well do without.

Among the more unusual finds in the North West are a 16ft dead python; three shilling coins and opened safes. Other finds around the network include a bag of bullets; an unexploded World War 2 hand grenade; antique poison bottles, a headless Paddington Bear; a bus stop sign; bubble machine; hearing aid; darts medal and a pizza delivery bike complete with soggy pizza on board!

Most of us know where, and where not, to park our vehicles but it seems some don't with a Mercedes A class car and a Volkswagen Camper van being hauled out of the canal.

As well as the cost to the Canal & River Trust of removing the rogue items, discarded rubbish can also be harmful to the wildlife inhabiting the canals and rural surroundings as well as the boaters navigating the stretches of water.

Part of the Canal & River Trust's £45 million restoration and repairs programme involved a four month survey to record the rubbish being removed from the canals as well as revealing what lurks beneath the waterline.

The survey found a typical tennis court-sized lock contains: one bicycle; one shopping trolley; one traffic cone; 67 glass bottles; four tyres; 150 plastic bags; 23 cans and three windlasses (sometimes known as 'lock keys)

Every year thousands of plastic bags and fizzy drink cans are thrown into the waterways but just one of those cans can take up to 200 years to biodegrade and a supermarket plastic bag up to 20 years.

The rubbish is not only an eyesore but has a real environmental effect on the waterways. Tyres and other rubbish contain pollutants which leak into the water and poison fish and other wildlife. Often rubbish acts as a choking hazard and wildlife can become trapped amongst the litter.

Peter Birch, national environment manager for the Canal & River Trust, said previously : “I’m constantly surprised at what people throw into the canal and the quantity of litter that we retrieve. Dealing with the problem is a big task and the money could be better spent enhancing the canals for people and wildlife to enjoy for years to come.

"As we come to the end of our winter restoration and repair work, we are calling for people to think twice about polluting their local canal or river with old plastic bags and litter."

Nick Smith, waste and contamination manager for the Canal & River Trust, says flytipping in canals has been a blight ever since canals came into being.

"But it is an ongoing problem," he says.

Nick, who sits on the National Flytipping Prevention Group, says others involved in the group such as water authorities are looking at proposals how they can reduce the amount of fly tipping.

However, it is a difficult task and one which relies on public assistance. While many will still continue to fly tip, reporting their actions would stop them in their tracks which is why it is imperative that anyone who sees someone fly tipping should take the details and report it.

Fly-tipping, particularly in and around canals, poses a potential health hazard as well as a danger not only to canal users, but also to the wildlife inhabitants.

"Historically, we have at least 700 incidents a year," says Nick, referring to the amount of fly tipping going on in and around our canal network.

He says while they are identifying and recording the incidents, they know there could be many more incidents due to the fact that some of the fly tipped items could be underwater.

Tyres and asbestos are just some of the finds - the more unusual include guns and even safes - and it all costs money to remove and can set the charity back hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

"Obviously anybody who does see anything to be prepared to report it because without having evidence that somebody has done something then certainly prosecution cannot take place."

Nick urges anyone who sees a vehicle fly tipping to take the vehicle registration number, and also the type of vehicle, in case the plates don't match.

"It comes down to people not caring for their environment," says Nick, referring to the culprits who fly tip.

"They spoil it for everybody. People like to come to the canal because they are what the are. The last thing they want to see is litter flying around and piles of fly tipping.

"If we don't clear it up our customers complain, quite rightly, but at the end of the day we have to find the money to do it."

For more information, vis //canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/how-we-make-a-difference