International explorer Paul Rose
has called on Londoners to ‘do the right thing’ and make sure their rubbish goes in the bin, not in the River Thames.

Paul kicked off a campaign we’ve developed with Thames21 and Tideway, the new company delivering the Thames Tideway Tunnel, to raise awareness of the

harm that rubbish in the Thames
is doing to wildlife and why it’s important to stop it getting there
in the first place.

New research from Royal Holloway, University of London shows that in the Thames
plastics were found in the guts
of three quarters of the fish species, flounder.

“I love the Thames,” said Paul.
“I grew up near it in Rainham,
so it was part of my everyday
life for many years. Now I’ve come back to help raise awareness of the harm rubbish does in the river and the simple things you need
to do to stop it getting there in the first place.

“The message to people is simple: do the right thing. Bag up your rubbish and make sure it’s disposed of properly. If you don’t, the wind will snatch it and blow
it along until it finds the water, stops dead and stays there.
It only comes back out again
when people like the PLA, Thames21 and their volunteers come along to take it, bag it,
and recycle it. If it’s not recovered it ends up in the stomachs of seals, fish and other marine life
in the river.”

The campaign features four posters and a series of films.
If you would like copies of the posters, please email: [email protected]