WITH plastic pollution in our oceans making international headlines, a clean-up event set out to tackle the problem of rubbish in the Severn Estuary on Friday (September 14).

Events at Lydney Harbour and Beachley saw volunteers issued with litter picking equipment and bin bags for the clean-up.

Cllr Chris McFarling (Green, St Briavels and Newline), the Forest Council’s Cabinet member for environment, took part in the event and said:

“We are very pleased to provide these events which form part of a wider Severn Estuary Clean Up coordinated by the Severn Estuary Partnership (SEP), based at Cardiff University. This initiative supports the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean weekend and Keep Wales Tidy’s All Wales Clean Up.

“The public and some of the Coleford-based Publica Group employees volunteered for this activity.

“The Publica workers spent a combined total of 56 hours collecting 33 bin bags worth of rubbish, including food packaging, cans, plastics, tyres, bottles, and even car parts.

“For some years now the council has been a member of SEP and this has proved to be a very useful gathering of local authorities, academic expertise and many other organisations that have an interest in the management and operation of our local estuarine environment.”

For more details about SEP and the Beach Clean Up weekend visit www.severnestuarypartnership.org.uk/sep/big-beach-clean/