'City brook used like open access landfill'
BBC"Put your rubbish in bins, please don't pollute our environment because it's absolutely heartbreaking," pleads Prof Sarah Gabbott.
She is supporting a project to clean up Willow Brook, which flows into the Grand Union Canal before reaching the River Soar in Leicester.
The University of Leicester academic, who researches plastic pollution in the environment, estimates that rubbish weighing the equivalent of 43 double-decker buses was thrown into it in one year.
"Basically, this tributary is currently being used almost like an open access landfill," she says.
"This tributary is being assaulted from all fronts," she added.
Prof Gabbott is working with community interest company Green Circle Nature Regeneration to clean up Willow Brook.
They lead teams of community payback offenders to remove the rubbish, and then they work with Leicester City Council to dispose of the bagged waste.
Recent finds include a small trampoline, a shopping trolley and clothing, among other items.
Supplied"They have made a massive difference," Prof Gabbott, who is also a director of Green Circle Nature Regeneration, says.
"Honestly, I can't praise their work enough. They graft really hard."
But she says that while the clean-up operation is helping, more waste is soon discarded into the waterway.
Prof Gabbott is concerned about the pollution the rubbish is causing to the water and the impact on wildlife.
She says: "This material - not only does it look disgusting, it causes flooding, it kills wildlife and it breaks down and it releases loads of toxins into the environment."
The BBC understands the issue of who is responsible for waterways like Willow Brook is often complicated, and Green Circle Nature Regeneration says it is working with authorities and community groups to try to help keep the area clear.
"Our aim is to have a green corridor that connects the Leicestershire countryside to the River Soar and a place that isn't delivering tonnes and tonnes of litter into the river and the canal every single year," Prof Gabbott explains.
Leicester City Council said it worked closely with Green Circle Nature Regeneration and also ran campaigns "to encourage people to take care of our waterways".
The authority conducted a project focused on Willow Brook between November 2021 and June 2023.
The aim was to increase awareness of waterways and the impacts of littering and fly-tipping.
The council also told the BBC it recently made a "successful bid" to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for work along the River Soar.
It said it would "involve local people in looking after our local waterways, as well as looking at ways to improve water quality".
The authority added: "But our key message would be - please don't put your rubbish in the Willow Brook or any of our watercourses so that we can keep them clear for everyone's benefit, including our wildlife."
The council urged residents to use its free bulky waste service instead of "illegally dumping their rubbish in the brook".
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