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<p>The Government focuses on preventing litter from entering rivers and the sea by
reducing it at source.</p><p>Through the waste hierarchy, we seek to reduce the amount
of waste produced in the first place and to encourage greater reuse and recycling
of goods and materials. The Waste Prevention Programme for England, published in December
last year, sets out actions for government, businesses, the wider public sector, civil
society and consumers to prevent waste.</p><p>Where litter is found on waterside land,
the responsibility for rectifying it depends on the ownership and management arrangements.
The responsibility for removing litter may fall on local authorities, appropriate
Crown authorities, designated statutory undertakers and the governing bodies of educational
institutions. All of these bodies have a statutory duty to keep specified land clear
of litter and refuse. The Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse recommends that canals
and waterside areas should be subject to regular and systematic management and monitoring
of litter and refuse.</p><p>Investment by the water companies to improve sewerage
infrastructure has resulted in a significant reduction in sewage-related litter entering
rivers and the sea through screening of discharges and improvements to sewage treatment.</p><p>We
welcome work such as that done by Keep Britain Tidy and Anglian Water through their
RiverCare programme to engage local communities in clearing litter, removing non-native
species, surveying and monitoring flora and fauna and carrying out habitat management
and restoration in their local rivers.</p><p>Defra will shortly be consulting on a
programme of measures, including for marine litter, as part of the implementation
of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The UK is contributing to the OSPAR convention’s
regional action plan on marine litter in the north-east Atlantic.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
</p><p>Defra has not undertaken any recent studies into the effect of plastic and
litter contamination on rivers; however, Defra is funding a study into the possible
effects of microplastics in the marine environment.</p><p> </p>
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