June 18th 2023.
Ralph Taylor, 48, is no stranger to cleaning up the river. He, along with his team of volunteers, the Waterway Pickers, have been pulling out all sorts of litter for years. From trolleys, bikes, safes to even fridges, the river has seen it all. But it was only recently, on Saturday, that they achieved a major milestone - their hundredth trolley.
Ralph started his mission back in 2021 when he began to worry about the dangers that such litter could pose to the people who swim or boat in the river. Most of the trolleys are usually shipped off to scrapyards or returned to the supermarket. But in an effort to celebrate the achievement of reaching the three-figure collection, Ralph decided to turn it into a sculpture of a heron, which will be returned back to the water.
When asked why they chose a heron, Ralph said that it symbolises an abundance of food and clean waterways. He also said that the idea to turn the trolleys into a sculpture was to show that something artistic and beautiful can be created from the rubbish.
Ralph could not believe that he was able to reach the milestone which had become an ongoing joke over time. He said that when he was on 30 he definitely could not see that they would make it to 100.
The pickers use grappling hooks, ropes and sometimes even a winch to help pull trolleys and other litter out of the water and sticky mud. But Ralph prefers to do it manually as it brings people together and gives them a sense of accomplishment. He said that using the machinery takes away the interaction between people. But when they do it by hand, they come together as a team and it becomes something amazing.
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