"This is my city and I want people to be proud of it" says Sheffield River Don litter-picker
“We actually found two sofas in the River Sheaf – you find all sorts while litter-picking”
A volunteer litter-picker who regularly wades into Sheffield’s River Don to clean up rubbish hopes his efforts can foster local pride in others.
Sheffield City Council worker James Mead joined in on a river clean-up near the Blonk Street bridge hosted by action group ‘Riverlution’ on July 27.
The day of litter-picking and tackling invasive species in partnership with the council collected nearly five bin bags of food wrappers, discarded mugs, glass bottles, metal cans, and a sofa - all within just the first hour.
“This is my city,” said James. “I’ve lived here well over half of my life, and I feel partly responsible for keeping it nice.
“Hopefully by tidying up the place, we can help people feel happier and prouder of the place they live.”
Riverlution is a ‘community interest company’ that trains apprentices, helps manage flood risks in Yorkshire and Humber, and hosts river clean-ups.
It was set up after the Don’s devastating flood in 2007 and has since won the 2026 Ashden Award for Nature-Based Climate Solutions.
Almost 10,000 buildings in Sheffield are currently at risk of flooding – with the number predicted to rise to over 18,000 if climate change continues to increase rainfall intensity.
“We do loads of work on the Don’s banks alongside property owners and people impacted by flooding in the area,” said Mary Joyce, one of Riverlution’s new apprentices.
“There’s a huge overlap between river quality and flooding.
“If we take care of nature, it takes care of us.”
“We actually found two sofas in the River Sheaf – you find all sorts while litter-picking.”
Another key part of the day was ‘balsam bashing’ – tackling the invasive Himalayan Balsam plant before its seeds spread. In winter, when the plant dies, its shallow roots can cause erosion and increase flood risk.
“The River Don is hugely prone to flooding,” said Riverlution team leader Martin Lyon.
“Managing litter, willow and invasive species can reduce the impact on native plants and animals reducing the chances of something getting caught in the river causing flooding.”
By lunchtime, the team had collected about 20 bags of litter from the riverbank.
“It’s a satisfying amount of bags,” said James as he picked up litter from the public path beside the Don.
“Once the banks and paths are tidy, it discourages people from further littering.
“It’s very satisfying to get stuck in and feel a sense of achievement looking at all those bags of rubbish.”
Mary said she hopes one day waterways across the country will be clean enough for everyone to enjoy:
“It made sense to take my love for the outdoors and wild swimming and do something positive for the waterways so they can be clean enough for people to swim in.
“Hopefully one day the rivers will be clean enough and we can swim in them forever.”