Keep Wales Tidy volunteers smash litter picking world record on river Taff 

Molly Stubbs

A world record for most people participating in a river cleanup has been set on the River Taff by 1,327 volunteers from local communities. 

On Friday 21 March, volunteers gathered at 8 locations along the river between Brecon and Cardiff Bay to attempt the record previously help by a river Ganges cleanup totalling 329 people. 

The Keep Taff Tidy event was organised by Keep Wales Tidy as part of their Spring Clean Cymru initiative from 21 March – 6 April, alongside static-cycling record holder and environmental activist Kate Strong and freshwater scientist Dr Numair Masud. 

Inspiration and motivation

Among the volunteers were families, school groups, local charities, and England cricket international Maia Bouchier, Glamorgan cricketer Lydia Clements, and England beach volleyball athlete Jess Grimson, litter picking at Brecon, Merthyr Vale, Pontypridd, Sophia Gardens, Llandaff, Grangetown, and Cardiff Bay. 

Though the world record was timed for 30 minutes, volunteers arrived at midday and continued their efforts throughout the afternoon.  

Kate, who is “beyond ecstatic” at the success, said: “We had over 100% attendance, so 1,299 signed up to come and 1,347 came — that’s how much the welsh people love and appreciate the importance of this cleanup effort. 

“I definitely feel an emotional attachment to the river. Until very recently I didn’t have a car, so in 2023 I cycled around mainland Britain visiting communities. When I returned to Wales and commuted into Cardiff, I kept seeing litter and hearing people say ‘isn’t it a shame there’s so much litter’. 

“I got thinking about a way to combine my passion for movement with river health and how I could motivate or inspire people to come along. A simple motivation is winning a world record so I reached out to Guinness, and found out there was no world record at the time for most amount of people cleaning a river. That was broken on the 14th February by a team in India so obviously our world record wasn’t a new one but a breaking of an existing one. That’s two rivers helped!”

Community commitment

All litter picked from the river was disposed of safely, with one group at the Cardiff Bay location clearing 162 bags of general rubbish, 19 bags of recycling, 6 builders bags of hard plastics, and 17 N₂O canisters. 

Keep Wales Tidy’s Spring Clean Cymru effort has taken place annually since 2014, and is part of the Great British Spring Clean. Last year’s effort saw 5,000 volunteers take part in 700 events across Wales. 

Keep Wales Tidy Chief Executive Owen Derbyshire said: “Every year we are inspired and humbled by the thousands of people across Wales who take part in Spring Clean Cymru and give their time to make a cleaner Wales for everyone. Our message this year is #LoveWhereYouLive and we really see that in the commitment of those who take part.

“In an ideal world, there would be no need for people to spend time litter picking, but we are continually grateful to everyone who does so, making their local communities and beauty spots cleaner and safer for everyone.”

‘Every volunteer counts’

Communities across Wales are being invited to join Spring Clean Cymru 2025 by registering their own litter-picking event on the Keep Wales Tidy website. 

Kate echoed this sentiment, saying: “Don’t be disheartened if the first time you organise a litter pick only two or three people come, there is a momentum behind this. It took me over a year to plan Keep Taff Tidy, and I only worked on this for 6 months, so that’s how much effort it takes behind the scenes. Keep plugging at it.

“Make sure you’ve got risk assessments completed – Keep Wales Tidy offer those through Spring Clean Cymru, but if you wanted to go throughout the year, Surfers Against Sewage do their Million Mile Clean all year round. You can hire for free kit from many litter hubs and local libraries, and remember that every volunteer counts.

“Doing something like cleaning a river is amazing, holding the space for people to do that takes something more, because it’s not about individuals. Every volunteer deserves massive kudos, especially those from Keep Wales Tidy who weren’t counted in the final total.”

‘Hunger for change’

According to EDM (Event Duration Monitoring) data, Dwr Cymru alone was responsible for 1,506 sewage dumps lasting 13,100 hours in total into the River Taff in 2023, up from 9,500 hours in 2022. 

In 2024, Cardiff council stated that the Harbour Authority’s litter pickers working in Cardiff Bay collect an average of 430 tonnes of rubbish and natural debris from the river each year. 

Kate reinforced the need for ongoing efforts, saying: “On individual levels I think it’s important to show our hunger for change, so that’s what these litter picks are for. On a personal note, maybe with what we’re picking up, we can see ourselves being a little irresponsible in our own disposing of our waste, so hopefully it will elicit behavioural change.

“I’ve published an open letter that’s being signed around banning plastic wet wipes so the government could definitely give us a helping hand. We also need to consider the omnipresent brands whose litter we see. It won’t be a big surprise if I mention Coca Cola and McDonalds, who I don’t think are doing enough because they are still producing single use products which promote this single use mindset. 

“McDonalds say 90% of their products are recyclable but that waste isn’t being effectively recycled. They need to do better in eradicating all single use products whether it’s recyclable or not. We need to elicit change in ourselves and also keep pushing responsibility up the food chain to do better on higher levels.” 

Momentum

Kate plans to continue her activism with her next project ‘Ongrid Less’, an initiative combining a book, workshops, a documentary, and community outreach to examine how individuals can reduce their footprints without changing their quality of life. However, she’s clear that her litter picking days are not over, saying:

“I would love to take part in other people’s litter picks. Taff Tidy is not a CIC or a charity, so people who are doing litter picks tag me and I’ll come to yours. But it cost £14,000 for this world record attempt and the money could be better spent elsewhere now we’ve got the momentum.

“Yes we need to keep doing litter picks but the next question is what else can we be doing? Can we look at the bleach we poor down our bins and toilets and change that to more eco-friendly products, can we commute to work and start discussing air pollution alongside water pollution? 

“We have a platform now, we’ve done a stellar job, so let’s build on it. This is the foundation for our next tasks.” 

More information about the event is available on Kate’s site.

You can register or search for a Spring Clean event near you on the Keep Wales Tidy website.