Plastic Pollution Mars the Scene for Dabbling London Ducks

A family of ducks was recorded swimming in Regent’s Canal, London, recently by Audrey Gillan.

Her video shows them paddling along a surface dominated by duckweed. Overgrowths of duckweed can be problematic, especially in warm weather, but the plant does provide food for ducks, as well as herbivorous fish. Nothing good, though, can be said about what’s seen next on the water – a discarded plastic bottle.

The Canal and River Trust says plastic bottles make up a quarter of the plastic pollution it deals with on its waterways. Around 80 percent of that total, it says, comes from inland sources, amid what it says is “endless plastic and fly-tipping incidents.” Credit: Audrey Gillan via Storyful