The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Regatta and Thames21

We here at Click Cleaning are conscious of the littering issues that affect the UK. A staggering 30 million tonnes of litter are removed from our streets annually and that’s in England alone. Still, not enough of us are recycling properly, which is proving to be problematic as landfills are increasingly filling up and many of our waterways are being used as an alternative. At Click Cleaning we are extremely passionate about recycling and using green alternatives whenever possible, albeit we also do stock traditional cleaning products.

The Jubilee Regatta is soon approaching and hundreds of people are expected to be lining the streets of London, but more than likely with their litter. With any public event it is safe to assume that many people will leave behind the remainders of the drinks and food that they have consumed whether by accident or as a result of neglect. Through this many charitable people come together to ensure that our streets and waterways are tidy. Chris Coode, Senior Programmes Manager of the charity, Thames21 commented: “Our schedule is always very busy at this time of year, as the weather warms up, people want to get out and enjoy their waterways, and issues are more easily tackled. Our work for the Pageant is really just one example of our on-going work to engage communities in improving their rivers and canals.”  

On June 3^rd London will be hosting a Regatta to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years on the thrown as the monarch of Great Britain. This is something the country has not seen since the reign of Queen Victoria. It is a momentous occasion and one that deserves a pristine location, which is why Thames21 have been called upon to ensure the Jubilee is litter free. Mr Coode continued: “We have been asked specifically to co-ordinate a pre-jubilee clean-up (Thames21’s Litter-Free Jubilee on, Friday June 1) and will be holding several additional Thames clean-ups in the lead up to the Pageant to get people involved in the river and help prepare it for the Queen.”

The Thames21 charity has been running for 16 years and has found that no matter where they go in the country they always receive a high response of volunteers wishing to take part. This continued community demand highlights just how important preserving waterways and green areas are to people.

Chris Coode explained why Thames21 is extremely important for London’s waterways saying: “Footpaths and streets are the responsibility of councils. Waterways are exempt from this responsibility, which was the initial primary driver for the creation of Thames21. To an extent we have taken on this responsibility for London, we work to raise awareness of the issues our rivers and canals face, including litter, and work to encourage everybody to share in that responsibility. Our aim is to engage people in improving their waterways so that everybody can get the most out of them, and at the same time help improve the environment.”

Many local communities come together with Thames21 to help keep their area spotless and ensure that green areas remain so. Chris Coode has said that there are many community projects for people to get involved with, “We promote all of our events on and offline, notify our large volunteer database of upcoming events and work with affiliated organisations and partners to raise awareness of particular events. We anticipate that a wide range of people organisations will assist us in making the Litter-Free Jubilee a fun and effective event with a range of activities, and will also help spread the word,” he said.

Conserving the UK’s waterways is extremely important and we here at Click Cleaning praise Thames21 for their admirable work.  Our waterways, not only in the capital, but the entire country provides aquatic species the habitat that they require, offers us a quality of life in surrounding communities and ensures that we can hold events such as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Regatta.