Environmental campaigners have hung a “satirical blue plaque” in a bid to highlight the state of waterways across the country.
Members of Extinction Rebellion and Transition Lichfield unveiled it at Speakers’ Corner in the city centre as part of a national day of action across the UK.
Organisers say the plaques highlight “the Government’s continued failure to tighten environmental regulations and stop profit-grabbing by water companies” by highlighting MPs who blocked a law requiring water companies to dump less raw sewage in 2021.
A spokesperson said:
“The Government’s failure to properly tackle the issue of sewage pollution has been hugely controversial.
“Last summer over a hundred beaches were closed to the public after a series of sewage discharges by water companies left the sand and sea contaminated with human sewage.
“Meanwhile only 14% of the UK’s rivers achieve ‘good’ ecological status with pollution from agriculture, human sewage, roads, and single-used plastics creating a dangerous chemical cocktail in our waterways.”
Extinction Rebellion and Transition Lichfield spokesperson
