Litter pick collects 50 bags of rubbish from river — SkimNews
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- Durham City Riverscape Community collected more than 50 bags of rubbish from the River Wear at their latest monthly litter pick.
- The volunteer group formed just before the coronavirus pandemic and runs monthly cleanups along the river, estimating it has removed tonnes of waste overall.
- Lead volunteer Graham Hollingwood said the team is approaching a 1,000-bag milestone, calling it evidence of the "phenomenal" effort required to protect the riverbanks.
- Volunteers hauled a full-sized fridge freezer out of the river earlier this year — described by Hollingwood as their biggest challenge to date and the team "proved equal to it."
- City of Durham Parish Council funds and backs the group; clerk and co-founder Adam Shanley called volunteer dedication "extraordinary" and pledged continued support.
Why it matters: Pulling 50 bags in one outing while nearing 1,000 bags overall — including a full-sized fridge — underscores how routine fly-tipping along the River Wear is, and how a small volunteer force backed by one parish council is carrying the cleanup burden.
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