A GROUP of 16 kayakers from Teignbridge Canoe Club took to the water on Saturday to collect plastic and other litter from the Teign estuary.
The paddlers were supporting the ‘Million Mile Clean’ organised by Surfers Against Sewage.
The ‘Million Mile Clean’ aims to reconnect communities with the environment by linking beach cleans with the benefits of physical exercise after a year of isolation, social distancing and reduced physical activity caused by Covid-19.
The club members divided up into small groups to follow covid rules and paddled 8km around the estuary from Teignmouth.
They filled 15 bin bags with more than 1,000 individual items of plastic and litter collected from the foreshore, which included: plastic drink bottles, plastic food wrappers, polystyrene pieces, plastic cotton bud sticks, several tennis balls and lots of nylon rope.
The paddle built on a clean-up event in 2019, when the club recovered seven bin bags of rubbish from the estuary.
Club chairman Tony Smith said: ‘One of the draws of kayaking is the chance to experience the amazing scenery around our coasts and rivers and the wildlife that lives there.
‘It was therefore no surprise that our club members turned out in good numbers to support this event and help clean-up our home waters of the Teign Estuary.’
‘It is estimated that 100,000 marine mammals and one million sea birds are killed by marine plastic every year.
‘We can all help to tackle this problem by minimising the use of single-use plastic and ensuring it’s properly recycled and disposed of at the end of its life.
‘Picking up litter before it washes into surface water drains and rivers also helps.’
Teignbridge Canoe Club welcomes new members and is currently running introductory sessions on Wednesday evenings on Teignmouth seafront. Further details can be found on the club’s website at https://teigncanoe.org.uk