Towpath Tidy, the Erewash Canal and the edible fag-end

Marathon effort brings cleaner, greener Erewash Canal  -  says a recent press release from the East Midlands satraps of British Waterways.

OK, well that's the positive spin on Towpath Tidy.  And good for that, nothing wrong with positive spin. We need Towpath Tidy, even if BW are laying it on a bit thick.

(I wish, though, that they wouldn't illustrate it with lifejackets and hi-visibility jackets, and - as shown on Waterscape, above - hard hats. That just reinforces the idea that dirty towpaths are a British Waterways problem, not a problem of canal users. And it reinforces the idea that you can drop litter, and BW's satraps will arrange the clear-up.) 

Yet, it's not the rubbish that's the problem; it's the fact that it's spread out.  You can drop litter, no problem.  The point is everyone should drop it in the same place, so that the lifejacketed, helmeted, safety-goggled hi-vis-jacketed peons of the BW satraps can collect it easily.

However, Towpath Tidy is just clearing up after the party.   And it only addresses the towpath, not the canal. 

A certain regular companion of mine (who shall remain nameless) smokes regularly when he comes aboard Granny Buttons.  That's fine.  My engine and my diesel heater smoke too, and my clothes smell more of diesel than of cigarette smoke.  

But I can't shake him out of the habit of chucking his spent cigarette into the canal. 

I do nag, I promise.  But my friend feels it's the responsibility of the cigarette companies to introduce a duck-edible cigarette filter.  Just as it's the responsibility of the supermarkets to introduce biodegradable supermarket trolleys and carrier bags.

Comments

[D'log]

I saw a BW dredger working slowly down the Trent & Mersey canal about 14 days ago (south Stoke), with workmen on the towpath helping helping to haul junk out. Just as well; since there was a settee and an armchair in there! Not sure they can get to the ciggie butts before they disintegrate, though :-) Thankfully, the one thing that Stoke-on-Trent's canals don't seem to have is a dog mess problem.

[Clive Field]

Hi Andrew... having a real problem seeing the dog crap strewn areas of Long Eaton, Ilkeston & Langley Mill as synonymous with ancient Persia.

Great pictures Andrew... both photographic and written....keep it up.

Clive