To draw attention to the damage litter causes to the UK’s waterways, lakes and beyond, specialist civils provider Wrekin Products has partnered with Barratt Homes on the new initiative ‘The Sea Starts Here’.
The campaign’s message will be featured prominently on Wrekin gully grates in Barratt’s Kings Park, a David Wilson Homes development in Macclesfield. It aims to raise awareness of how small pieces of litter can snowball into lasting environmental effects. To further grab attention, Kings Park gully grates have been painted a stark bright blue.
Keep Britain Tidy estimates that the UK discards a staggering 30 million tonnes of litter annually, incurring a cleanup cost of £1 billion. Shockingly, nearly half of this litter (14m) ends up contaminating our rivers and canals, as reported by the Canal & River Trust. This ongoing damage has led to a situation where none of our waterways are currently classified as being in ‘good health’.
Simon Turner, Commercial Director at Wrekin Products, said: “We hope this campaign will go some way to increasing awareness about the interconnectedness of our infrastructure and the problems and effects of water pollution on our marine wildlife.
“As one of the most popular suppliers of gully grates in the UK, we’re using our position as an opportunity to create a positive environmental impact by reminding people that there is a correct place for litter to go, and it’s not down our drains.”
Simon continued: “We’re lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful natural landscapes on the planet, and so it’s a shame to see it needlessly harmed by pollution and rubbish. More so when we see the ripple effects of excess nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen seeping into and harming our freshwater habitats, and in some cases being enough to kill the fish population.
“The main culprit of river pollution in the UK is smoking-related litter. However, confectionary packets, drinks bottles and cans, fast food, wet wipes, and, more recently, disposable vapes all contribute to a harmful chemical cocktail.”
He concluded: “Kings Park is just the beginning of this campaign, and we’ll be looking to spread this important message even further throughout this year and beyond.”
The government’s Environmental Audit Committee (2022) found that housing developments’ drainage systems which are clogged with ‘a profusion of plastic and other non-biodegradable waste’, in addition to heavy rainfall, often leads to an overloaded sewerage system unable to cope effectively.
Alaric Ross-Wagenknecht, Project Engineer at Barratt and David Wilson Homes Anglia, added: “As leaders in the residential housebuilding sector, we wanted to work with Wrekin to educate children and adults in a fun and informative way about the importance of pollution control and the role of drainage infrastructure and the water cycle.
“To permanently imprint the message ‘The Sea Starts Here’ on a gully grating means the message will be here for years to come, throughout the gully’s whole life cycle. That will get people thinking twice about gullies and their role.”
More information surrounding the effect of litter on drainage systems and in the UK’s waterways can be found via www.wrekinproducts.com/tssh
Main image (and below) Wrekin’s Dave Sanders and Alex Gardiner on site at Kings Park where the new gully grates have been installed.
Wrekin Products is a leading UK manufacturer of specialist access solutions for the civil engineering industry, such as ductile iron manhole covers and gully grates, to support markets including residential, commercial and highways.
For more than four decades the business says it has has given the specifier, engineer, contractor and merchant solutions to long standing issues with reduced environmental impacts – making everyday better.
Wrekin is also a founding member of Civitec Group, alongside four likeminded businesses involved in the design, specification and manufacturing of products for the civil engineering industry. The group’s aim is to make customers’ lives easier and bring the best solutions to market – becoming better together through collaboration.
