40 tons of rubbish were lifted from the waters of the BCN in a recent joint effort involving over 100 volunteers from various waterways groups.
The volunteers from the Waterway Recovery Group (WRG), The Inland Waterways Association, Birmingham Canal Navigations Society, Dudley Canal Trust and Canal & River Trust (C&RT) joined together to carry out a massive canal clean-up on the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) on 5th and 6th April.
Using grappling hooks and other tools volunteers removed over 40 tonnes from the canal around Ashted Flight, Typhoo Wharf and Camp Hill Locks – filling four skips in the process! Work boats, provided by CRT, were also on hand to take away rubbish. It is hoped this annual effort on the BCN will help keep the less well used parts of the BCN & Black Country Network from getting choked up with rubbish and becoming impassable for boats.
The usual assortment of shopping trolleys, bicycles and tyres were pulled out of the canal, along with some more unusual items including three goal posts, a safe and a Lancashire boiler shovel!
WRG Leader Chris Morgan said
‘I am very proud of all the volunteers who got involved and travelled from across the UK to help clean up the canals of Birmingham this weekend. Thanks to their enthusiasm and efforts we cleared a massive amount of rubbish from the canal.
It was great to see WRG and other volunteers of all ages working together to clean-up the BCN.’
Thanks to WRG for this report and use of images.
