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Reporting your Thames litter clean-up

Consent for Litter Clean-Ups on the Tidal-Thames

If you are planning on organising a litter clean-up event on the tidal Thames foreshore, you will need to gain prior consent from the PLA. You will need to use our new consent portal: Cleaning the Thames and create an account via the website. Once your account has been created, you will be able to create new litter clean-up events. For each event you will need to submit a safety and risks register document which outlines your methodology, identified risks and mitigation measures. These will then be reviewed and approved by our team.

If you need any help using the website, please contact us via this link and we can advise on the process.

Reporting Your Thames Litter Clean-Up

After the clean-up, you will be able to enter information about how much litter was removed, the type of litter and how many volunteers attended. This will enable us to gain a better understanding of how much litter is being removed from the tidal Thames by volunteers each year and where it is being collected from.

If you have collected litter individually while out walking, you will also be able to record this collection via our Cleaning the Thames homepage. Here you can record where and when you collected the litter and the type of litter you picked up. 

We will then collate this data and use it to help inform future clean-up effort along with action as part of the Litter Strategy for the Thames Vision.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

Safety

The Thames foreshore is potentially hazardous and some dangers may not always be immediately apparent. The Thames rises and falls by over 7.0m twice a day as the tide comes in and out. The current is fast and the water is cold.

Anyone going on the foreshore does so entirely at their own risk and must take personal responsibility for their safety and that of anyone with them. In addition to the tide and current mentioned above there are other less obvious hazards, for example raw sewage, broken glass, hypodermic needles and wash from vessels. Steps and stairs down to the foreshore can be slippery and dangerous and are not always maintained. The PLA advises that only children of a minimum age of 9, with a supervised adult, be allowed on the foreshore due to the hazards presented.

Before going onto the foreshore consider:

  • sensible footwear and gloves
  • carrying a mobile phone
  • not going alone
  • the tide; is it rising or falling?

Always make sure you can get off the foreshore quickly – watch the tide and make sure that steps or stairs are close by.

Finally, be aware of the possibility of Weil’s Disease, spread by rats urine in the water. Infection is usually through cuts in the skin or through eyes, mouth or nose. Medical advice should be sought immediately if ill effects are experienced after visiting the foreshore, particularly “flu like” symptoms ie temperature, aching etc.