News

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.

With a new season of litter fishing at our doorstep, we focussed on testing the software used to map waste in de Leiden canals. During such a test we found the most expensive object so far from the water. We reckon this record will not be broken anytime soon! The crowdfunding for extra canoes is going well and we are steadily approaching the target amount.

What is typically found in the Leiden canals during the canoeing sessions? We sorted the whole yield of 21 December 2019 and made pictures. Based on dozens of sessions it's safe to say the overview is representative of what kinds of litter we collect during other rounds through the city centre.