Sheffield staff help clear up rubbish and river bank

Twenty five members of staff at Gripple donned waders and spent 150 hours during worktime removing more than two tonnes of rubbish from the River Don in front of the company’s factory on Carbrook Street in Attercliffe.

With the knowledge of the River Stewardship Company (RSC) the men and women from all Gripple’s Sheffield sites were joined by several from a company overlooking, Sumo Digital. Apart from removing rubbish, the team also tidied the damage to the riverbanks caused by the recent flooding.

Twenty-four tyres - small and huge – a fridge, two bikes, ten cones and 50 sacks of plastic, wet wipes and other waste were unearthed, hauled and lifted from the water and riverbanks

Sara Blackburn, manager from RSC, said: “This was one of our largest clean-ups and it was down to the hard work by the Gripple people, who seemed to enjoy it.

“Removing so much rubbish was amazing, making a huge difference to each river bank.

“We look forward to working with Gripple further to remove even more plastic from the trees once the water has gone down and perhaps planting some flowers on the riverbanks.

"A massive thank you to all for the fantastic effort.”

She added: “We are incredibly grateful for forward-thinking companies like Gripple, and these hardworking staff, for helping us to deliver clean-ups like this. What an inspiration.”

A Sumo Digital employee commented: “I saw the volunteers clearing up the debris around the river which has long been a welcome break for the strained eyes of a computer worker.

“Recently the river has become an eyesore with all the tyres and plastic.

“Now in the spring it will once again be a haven for heron, cormorants and kingfishers.”

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