Bumpers on boats are helping to keep waterways clean.
Now a young English couple is removing rotting yachts from Cornwall’s riverbanks. Their non-profit organisation’s focus: the abandoned fibreglass vessels from whose hulls plastic particles and toxic materials have leaked into surrounding waters.
Recent on-site analysis showed there were more than 11,000 fibreglass shards in a single kilogram of oysters. After being cleared, the yachts are loaded onto an old VW campervan with an attached crane system and towed to local scrapping and recycling centres.
Disposal costs and the running of the organisation are financed through grants or crowdfunding. The campervan, meanwhile, is powered by chip oil from local pubs.
Another Englishman is finding new uses for old fishing nets.
