Environmentalist Dhruv Boruah is pedalling his bike on the canals to collect plastic and raise awareness of the problems that it causes

Environmentalist Dhruv Boruah is pictured pedalling his specially adapted bamboo bike on the canals to collect floating plastic and raise awareness of the problems that it causes – not just in the oceans, but in the canals too.

He was joined by teams of Canal & River Trust volunteers with a workboat and local people clearing litter from the towpaths as he made his way along the Birmingham Canal Navigations from the Centre of the Earth environmental centre at Winson Green to the centre of Birmingham. CRT said that it spends £1m per year clearing rubbish from canals nationally, while the local volunteers recently pulled out two tonnes of plastic in a week from Birmingham’s canals.

Dhruv, who was inspired to join the campaign against plastics during a London to Rio sailing race, has used his floating bike on London’s canals before turning his attention to Birmingham. He pointed out that “plastic waste can cause real problems for wildlife right here on our canals but it also travels through our waterways to the ocean harming marine life”, adding that the real solution was to inspire people to stop plastic at its source.

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