A hoover, television, children's bikes, a safety barrier and multiple traffic cones were among the hoard of rubbish hauled out of the River Suir in Carrick-on-Suir by members of the town's canoeing and kayaking club during a clean-up of the waterway this week.
The civic-minded volunteers of Carrick Paddlers Club went out in their boats for three hours on Sunday morning, August 9 collecting rubbish lying on the riverbed.
Carrick Paddlers committee member Brian White said the club's members carried out a similar clean-up of the river two years ago but still managed to pull out a huge amount of discarded objects from it on Sunday. The haul included four children's bikes and about 15 traffic cones.
“It's really not good enough.
"I posted photos on the Wild About Carrick-on-Suir Facebook page last week taken on walks along the riverbank showing how there is so much wildlife on the river and then this debris.
"People are doing things that are unacceptable in terms of how they treat the river,” he complained.
Apart from the environmental damage to the Suir, Mr White pointed out the rubbish poses a danger to local young people who jump into and swim in the river on hot days.
The rubbish the club’s members retrieved from the river was collected by Tipperary County Council on Monday for safe and proper disposal.
1. Carrick Paddlers clean-up
Carrick Paddlers Safety Officer Martin Tobin holding a dumped hoover taken from the River Suir and Carrick Paddlers Chairman Conor Power sitting on a chair hauled out of the river during the club's clean-up operation | Carrick Paddlers
2. Carrick Paddlers clean-up
Ralph O'Callaghan collecting rubbish from the bed of the River Suir in his boat | Carrick Paddlers Club