Photo above: plastic sampling on the river between Richmond and Twickenham.
The Living River Foundation is returning to the Thames to sample the estuary for microplastics floating in the surface of the water. The last time this was sampled was 2018 when they found fibres from sanitary items and broken shards of old plastic items. The foundation is entirely run by volunteers giving their time to understand estuaries better and bring about change.
Their small vessel, the 23-foot “Snapper”, is moored at Hermitage between trips on the Thames to sample the water, free of charge courtesy of Hermitage River Projects.
Typical “catch” of larger visible plastic pieces; there is a lot of less visible fibre material.
