‘Nice and Tidey’: How a 16-year-old rower is cleaning up the Thames

A Year 12 student is tackling waste pollution in the Thames.

Ani Poghosyan, 16, founded Tidey in November last year to tackle plastic waste pollution in the river by getting rowers to pick up rubbish from the water near their club in Hammersmith. 

Ani had been a rower and cox at St Paul’s Girls’ Boat School, in Brook Green, for more than two years when she started Tidey, to give back to the Thames.

She said: “I started Tidey because, as someone who uses the river so often, I would love to give back to the environment by uniting my fellow rowers to collect plastic from the water.

“While coxing, I always come across bits of packaging, bottles and larger items, so I feel that if every rower in London picks up just what they encounter, in a single rowing session we can make a big difference.”

More than 200 tonnes of plastic are pulled from the Thames every year, including large chunks of polystyrene, which takes more than 500 years to decompose naturally.

Ani’s rowing club collects waste every week, and has filled 40 large bin bags of plastic since the project started.

Ani also openned up her scheme to other boat clubs in London and within two days Tidey was working with five other clubs.

These clubs compete to see who can collect the most rubbish from the water, they weigh how much rubbish they have collected that week and send in pictures of their haul into Tidey, the results of which are compared and the winners receive prizes.

Tidey now has a crowdfunding page to raise money for rowing merchandise to give out as prizes. 

Currently, the project is recruiting boat clubs to take part in the challenge.

To get in touch visit their instagram, @tideylondon. To donate to the crowdfunder visit, https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/tideylondon

Pictured Top: Ani Poghosyan collecting plastic from the river, a collection of the plastic Tidey has collected from the Thames (Picuture: Ani Poghosyan)