The Dirtiest River in the World – River Tame in Denton

A study has recently discovered that a river in Greater Manchester has the highest record of micro plastic pollution ever found anywhere in the world. The River Tame in Denton was one of several rivers in northwest England found to have extraordinarily high concentrations of plastic, even worse than rivers in Hong Kong and South Korea. Unfortunately, pollution from these rivers and streams are one of the main contributions to fatal pollution in our oceans. 

Sources of micro plastics from households which are affecting the river Tame include straws and plastic bags as they slowly break down which is a risk to all types of sea life, from zooplankton to grey seals and even larger animals like sharks.

One section of the River Tame was actually found to contain 517,000 plastic particles per square metre of water which is a staggering result of double the record for any river or ocean in the world. 

Source: manchestereveningnews.co.uk