Our filthy Clyde - and it's all our own fault

The world-renowned nature cameraman Doug Allan has thrown his support behind an 18-month “Upstream Battle” campaign launched by Keep Scotland Beautiful for a major public effort to clean up the Clyde from its very source at Daer and Powtrail in the Upperward Hills to where it leaves our area under the arches of the Garrion Bridge.The campaign was prompted by new research that shows that 80 per cent of ocean pollution is due to dumping well inland into our rivers; in other words, rubbish thrown into the Clyde at Powtrail ends up at Port Glasgow and debris dumped at Daer at Dumbarton on its way to the sea.A spokesman for the Battle organisers said: “The campaign will trigger actions across the entire length of the River Clyde, from its source in the Lowther Hills. “Upstream Battle is the first “source to sea” campaign of its kind and will include working with groups along the Clyde Valley, making people aware of the problem of marine litter and how to keep the Clyde clean, a ‘citizen science’ project to empower thousands of people in the Clyde Valley to clean up and identify the litter along the banks of their local river and a schools programme to help educate young people about the path litter takes from source to sea.” Doug Allan added: “It’s hugely satisfying to see the part that Blue Planet has played in heightening awareness of this devastating problem and I’m equally proud that it’s my native Scotland that’s taking practical steps to address it.”