The Mersey Rivers Trust is organising a clear up of the debris in the River Irwell near Kersal Wetlands that will take place this December.

Mike Duddy, senior project manager from the Mersey Rivers Trust, who are organising the event, urges volunteers to help in the clear up on Saturday 21 December.

Debris has accumulated near the Kersal Wetlands where the river widens, losing its energy to carry any debris, meaning waste is dumped on the river banks.

This clear up is part of a series of clear up events organised by the Mersey Rivers Trust throughout the year across Greater Manchester.

Mr Duddy hopes people will volunteer to give a few hours to help the river which he describes as a great social activity.

Tyres in the River Irwell | Photo credit: Rebecca Schott

He said: “Basically anyone from five years old to 95 years old. We’ve got different jobs for different people.

“There’s plenty of jobs: from pulling up these tyres to just walking the bank with a litter picker and a bin bag, collecting plastic bottles, preventing micro-plastics entering into the ocean. There’s lots and lots of different things for people to do.”

Debris in the River Irwell | Photo credit: Rebecca Schott

Salford City Council will remove and dispose of the collected debris on the following Monday.

During these clear up events, volunteers can expect to find tyres, shopping trolleys and various bits of plastic which will be gathered out of the river to prevent harm to wildlife.

Mr Duddy said: “By having more natural river banks, it gives wildlife a much better habitat to live in. It makes the river far less unsightly. It makes people realise that the river is clean and, hopefully, prevents people from further fly tipping.”

Mr Duddy lives on the banks of the River Irwell and says the river that runs through Salford is the “closest to his heart”.

A canoe, a tyre and further debris in the River Irwell | Photo Credit: Rebecca Schott

He said: “I’ve watched this river transform from a grey, open dirty sewer to something, you wouldn’t believe by looking over my shoulder, that is of great beauty that holds tremendous amounts of wildlife and varied ecology.”

The gates to the Kersal Wetlands will be opened from 9am until 10am on 21 December for volunteers to park their cars by Mersey Rivers Trust’s blue gazebo where refreshments will be provided before the clear up begins.

Information on how to volunteer in the river clear up can be found on Mersey Rivers Trust website.

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