Helping Llanrumney residents

30 volunteers made a hugely visible difference to the River Rhymney in Cardiff last Sunday as they cleansed the river and its banks in Llanrumney. 

See pics here

Volunteers from Cardiff Rivers Group travelled over to the East side of Cardiff to help local residents and Communities First remove waste that had been dumped into the river by irresponsible individuals.

Unfortunately there were many large, heavy, items present, but this did not deter the hard-working, experienced volunteers who utilised their excellent teamwork skills to remove all items safely. Together they collected 9 trolleys, 3 bikes, a pushchair, 28 bags of rubbish, remains of a motorbike, large gas cannister, car bonnet, traffic cones, 2 wheelbarrows, 5 tyres (including large lorry and tractor tyres) and lots of metal.

All rubbish was disposed of by Cardiff County Council’s Parks Department. 

Nigel Barry of Cardiff Rivers Group said, ““Today, was a great example of just how easily and quickly areas can deteriorate. Six months after the last clean-up, the river looked as bad as ever. However, it was really uplifting to see Cardiff Rivers Group, Llanrumney Communities First and local residents all pulling together to make a marked improvement to the area.”

Amy McCarthy, Communities First Development Worker said, “Llanrumney Communities First would like to thank Cardiff Rivers Group once again for coming to support local residents to take action against the damage being done to the environment. Increasingly, we are seeing more and more waste being dumped in the River Rhymney and events such as this not only raise awareness, but help to educate all local attendees about the situation, who in turn, pass this information on to the wider community”.

“We are hoping to plan more of these events in the near future and are very pleased that locals are increasingly expressing an interest to participate in the environmental activities taking place in Llanrumney. Again, thank you to the Cardiff Rivers Group for their amazing support and a big thanks to the residents for their hard work!” she added.

Cardiff Rivers Group formed in 2009 as part of the ‘Tidy Towns’ project: a partnership between Keep Wales Tidy and Welsh local authorities. Funded by the Welsh Government it supports the people of Wales to improve the quality of their local environment.

Cardiff Rivers Group are always looking for new volunteers, so if you would like to lend a hand, please contact Louise Tambini on 07824 504790 or e-mail louise.tambini@keepwalestidy.org.