News

Chilling out on a terrace without worrying about disposable plastic blowing into the canals? That's possible in Leiden. The terraces of Brasserie De Poort and Tanoor, at the Haven, will be completely free of disposable plastic from 1 August 2020. Lot and the Whale will join later. And Logica, on the Stille Rijn, has been free of single-use plastic since its establishment in 2014.

The canal is a reflection of human activity. We used to have a sea of plastic cups after big events, but thanks to the efforts of Canal Cups, this image belongs to the past. After the outbreak of Corona, the canal once again manages to hold up a mirror to us.

Thousands of plastic nets spread from the Lammermarkt all the way to the open sea. Plastic Spotters call for a plastic-free alternative to replace the turf in Leidsch Dagblad.

From time to time we get reports from colleagues, friends and residents about plastic hotspots and other kinds of pollution. But Saturday 18 April we received a very remarkable report: an oil spill had been spotted in the Nieuwe Rijn canal!

Due to the Corona crisis, all organised activities by canoe in Leiden are canceled for some time. We are waiting for developments and advises from RIVM (Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) before we can restart our activities, with or without the necessary restrictions. Until then, we can already notice the effects of Corona on the canals.