{"id":64974,"date":"2022-12-16T11:19:12","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T11:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=64974"},"modified":"2023-10-11T09:49:23","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T08:49:23","slug":"is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the government over-relying on us to keep our rivers clean?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Welsh government outline the need for collaboration to tackle increasing river litter pollution, but a leading community group says this is turning into over-reliance on volunteers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64980\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-770x385.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-1366x683.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-585x293.jpg 585w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-1170x585.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-293x147.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-1400x700.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64980\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-770x385.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-1366x683.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-585x293.jpg 585w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-1170x585.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-293x147.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o-1400x700.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/52352176187_caef3c23cf_o.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cardiff Rivers Group clearing one of many rivers [Credit: CRG]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">The river Taff, Ely, and Rhymney are the three main rivers that run through Cardiff. Each year an estimated 14 million pieces of plastic rubbish ends up in and around rivers in the UK, according to the leading charity Canal and River Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to this, littered nitrous oxide canisters have risen around Cardiff, &nbsp;with several large and small canisters being collected and recycled each year, according to volunteers at Cardiff Rivers Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maintaining a strong collaboration between local authorities and voluntarily led groups to keep natural resources and spatial pathways clear of litter is an ongoing target set out this year by Welsh government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But does this target create an over-reliance on <a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/06\/volunteer-to-make-an-older-person-smile-this-christmas\/\">volunteer<\/a> and community groups? Preventing local authorities from fulfilling their statutory duties as a public service?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-color\" style=\"color:#1453da\">This is part of the problem, everybody says it&#8217;s everybody else&#8217;s responsibility<\/p>\n<cite>Dave King MBE<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/How-to-report-litter-in-rivers-3-410x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64995\" width=\"308\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/How-to-report-litter-in-rivers-3-410x1024.png 410w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/How-to-report-litter-in-rivers-3-120x300.png 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 308px) 100vw, 308px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/How-to-report-litter-in-rivers-3-410x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64995\" width=\"308\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/How-to-report-litter-in-rivers-3-410x1024.png 410w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/How-to-report-litter-in-rivers-3-120x300.png 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 308px) 100vw, 308px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The issue of litter around rivers is not Cardiff council\u2019s responsibility unless it concerns fly-tipping, where a fine of up to \u00a350,000 can be issued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Natural Resources Wales was formed in 2013 and acts separately from the council. Each year their responsibilities and targets are set by the Senedd. Responsibilities involve monitoring environmental incidents such as flooding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Between Cardiff council and Natural Resources Wales lay a void of responsibility where litter in and around rivers was not being cleared, leaving a stain on natural environments and public sights. Dave King MBE filled that void in 2009 when he formed <a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffriversgroup.org.uk\/\">Cardiff Rivers Group<\/a>. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Dave King MBE, the clear lack of responsibility to deal with river litter and consistent passing of the buck from Cardiff Council and Natural Resources Wales was the main reason for starting the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NRW would only act if a risk of flooding was involved, says King, and the council would pass the buck to the landowner, even if they were the owners.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During this <a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/12\/young-broke-and-lonely-the-true-impact-of-the-cost-of-living-crisis-in-wales\/\">current cost-of-living crisis<\/a> and times of austerity, the council are going to focus their funding on key areas such as education and social care, and rightfully so says King. Litter picking, street and river cleans are going to get pushed aside, so if community groups don\u2019t step up and take charge of the situation it won\u2019t get done, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cardiff Rivers Group\u2019s main responsibilities involve clearing pathways and rivers, and then collecting and organising rubbish to be disposed of and recycled. Eszter Hovarth, who has been a volunteer for over six years says she enjoys the social aspect of the group and engaging in new activities she would never have tried before, such as getting on a pair of knee-high wellingtons for a deep river clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another volunteer says although there is an overreliance on community-led groups, there is arguably an over-reliance on the council to do everything for residents. \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t hurt for more people to help out and tidy up their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>King now finds himself being contacted by local authorities when a resident reports litter in and around rivers and streams. \u201cThey won\u2019t go near it, the council, that\u2019s the thing. If there\u2019s litter in more than six inches of water, they\u2019ll ring me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64985\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-770x385.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-1366x683.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-585x293.jpg 585w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-1170x585.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-293x147.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-1400x700.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64985\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-770x385.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-1366x683.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-585x293.jpg 585w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-1170x585.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-293x147.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o-1400x700.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A volunteer from Cardiff Rivers Group clearing a traffic cone out of the water [Credit: CRG]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Labour councillor Huw Thomas of Splott said although it\u2019s not the council\u2019s responsibility, they collaborate with community groups, such as CRG, to dispose of the waste collected after the community events end. Natural Resources Wales says it acts under the guidelines of the Welsh government and aims to achieve the targets set out each financial year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"color:#055fd4\">A new kind of litter<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>A newly found form of litter around Cardiff is nitrous oxide canisters. CRG look to the expertise of Dr Matthew Conroy, a structural biologist at Cardiff University to depressurise and dispose of the canisters correctly. Hundreds of NOS canisters have been found this year and Dr Conroy says the problem will only get worse, especially around university-populated areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It isn\u2019t illegal to buy nitrous oxide in Wales and is believed to be a popular recreational drug for 16-24-year-olds. Large canisters that are commonly collected by the river group are often full and highly dangerous, according to Dr Conroy, and are a great risk to the environment as one of the most potent greenhouse gases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load\" title=\"Nitrous Oxide - Let&#039;s talk about the dangers\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"about:blank\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZhhamZjqsH8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><noscript><iframe title=\"Nitrous Oxide - Let&#039;s talk about the dangers\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZhhamZjqsH8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Let&#8217;s talk about Nitrous Oxide [Photos provided by CRG]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/10-biggest-plastic-polluters-found-in-uk-rivers-5-410x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64994\" width=\"308\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/10-biggest-plastic-polluters-found-in-uk-rivers-5-410x1024.png 410w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/10-biggest-plastic-polluters-found-in-uk-rivers-5-120x300.png 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 308px) 100vw, 308px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/10-biggest-plastic-polluters-found-in-uk-rivers-5-410x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64994\" width=\"308\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/10-biggest-plastic-polluters-found-in-uk-rivers-5-410x1024.png 410w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/10-biggest-plastic-polluters-found-in-uk-rivers-5-120x300.png 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 308px) 100vw, 308px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/earthwatch.org.uk\/images\/plastic\/PlasticRiversReport.pdf\">https:\/\/earthwatch.org.uk\/images\/plastic\/PlasticRiversReport.pdf<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"color:#184ed8\">The plastic problem<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>A study from Loughborough University found that 63% of all litter across the UK was made of plastic, and the majority had been used for packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, an annual survey conducted by two leading environmental organisations in Wales, the Marine Conversation Society and Keep Wales Tidy stated that litter in Wales is mostly associated with \u2018on the move\u2019 food and drink containers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year Welsh Government began talks to introduce the single-use plastic bill which will make it an offence for any business to supply any commonly littered single-use plastics including cutlery, plates, and cotton buds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The founder of CRG welcomes this but adds a further incentive programme, such as a traditional deposit return scheme, to stop the problem at its source could be a solution. \u201cAll it needs is people, instead of penalising people they need to be incentivized. Try and do that. And with polystyrene, one of the biggest polluters, just ban it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plastic pollution and the growing concern over littered nitrous oxide canisters will continue to worsen if community groups do not step up, according to CRG, during the cost-of-living crisis. If Cardiff council choose to focus funding on other key areas, the question surrounding over-reliance on community-led groups will further prolong into the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A leading community group says collaboration has turned into over-reliance as Welsh government set to tackle litter pollution in rivers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":915,"featured_media":64985,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7087,7937],"tags":[20,256,561,6134,7866,325,4645],"coauthors":[7651],"class_list":["post-64974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-long-reads","category-the-edit","tag-community","tag-environment","tag-litter","tag-pollution","tag-voluteer","tag-welsh-government","tag-wildlife"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is the government over-relying on us to keep our rivers clean?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A leading community group says collaboration has turned into over-reliance as Welsh government set to tackle litter pollution in rivers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is the government over-relying on us to keep our rivers clean?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A leading community group says collaboration has turned into over-reliance as Welsh government set to tackle litter pollution in rivers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"alt.cardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-16T11:19:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-11T08:49:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matthaus Bridge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@matthausbridge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matthaus Bridge\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/\",\"name\":\"Is the government over-relying on us to keep our rivers clean?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-16T11:19:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-11T08:49:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/7a6f6c1868cf279f488eaf8b3dfa8365\"},\"description\":\"A leading community group says collaboration has turned into over-reliance as Welsh government set to tackle litter pollution in rivers.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":750},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is the government over-relying on us to keep our rivers clean?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/\",\"name\":\"alt.cardiff\",\"description\":\"If it\u2019s offbeat and in Cardiff then it\u2019s online here.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/7a6f6c1868cf279f488eaf8b3dfa8365\",\"name\":\"Matthaus Bridge\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/2d6446a9217f0d9dc06f2208dfd9f13f\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/avatar_user_915_1671061266-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/avatar_user_915_1671061266-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Matthaus Bridge\"},\"description\":\"Matthaus Bridge is a trainee journalist studying at Cardiff University. His interests include Sport, Culture, and Current Affairs. You can follow Matthaus on Twitter @matthausbridge or contact him via email at bridgem@cardiff.ac.uk\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/matthausbridge\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/author\/bridgem\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is the government over-relying on us to keep our rivers clean?","description":"A leading community group says collaboration has turned into over-reliance as Welsh government set to tackle litter pollution in rivers.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is the government over-relying on us to keep our rivers clean?","og_description":"A leading community group says collaboration has turned into over-reliance as Welsh government set to tackle litter pollution in rivers.","og_url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/","og_site_name":"alt.cardiff","article_published_time":"2022-12-16T11:19:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-10-11T08:49:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":750,"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Matthaus Bridge","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@matthausbridge","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matthaus Bridge","Estimated reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/","name":"Is the government over-relying on us to keep our rivers clean?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o.jpg","datePublished":"2022-12-16T11:19:12+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-11T08:49:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/7a6f6c1868cf279f488eaf8b3dfa8365"},"description":"A leading community group says collaboration has turned into over-reliance as Welsh government set to tackle litter pollution in rivers.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/51979187458_c59f9fbec5_o.jpg","width":1500,"height":750},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/12\/16\/is-the-government-over-relying-on-us-to-keep-our-rivers-clean\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is the government over-relying on us to keep our rivers clean?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/","name":"alt.cardiff","description":"If it\u2019s offbeat and in Cardiff then it\u2019s online here.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/7a6f6c1868cf279f488eaf8b3dfa8365","name":"Matthaus Bridge","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/2d6446a9217f0d9dc06f2208dfd9f13f","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/avatar_user_915_1671061266-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/12\/avatar_user_915_1671061266-96x96.jpg","caption":"Matthaus Bridge"},"description":"Matthaus Bridge is a trainee journalist studying at Cardiff University. His interests include Sport, Culture, and Current Affairs. You can follow Matthaus on Twitter @matthausbridge or contact him via email at bridgem@cardiff.ac.uk","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/matthausbridge"],"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/author\/bridgem\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/915"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64974"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65173,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64974\/revisions\/65173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64974"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=64974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}