Plymouth-based history non-profit The SHIPS Project has launched a Crowdfunder to raise money to help clear Plymouth Sound of 1,000 tyres and other pollutants.
The group, which specializes in maritime history, discovered the tyres, and lots of other junk, while searching for shipwrecks in the Sound with Sonardyne International Ltd and Plymouth University's hydrographic department.
The aim of the 1,000 Tyres Project is to locate and remove the discarded tyres and some of the dumped rubbish to prevent the dispersion of pollutants into Plymouth's marine environment, and then find responsible ways to recycle the tyres and other junk.
Recreational divers will be enlisted to help confirm the identity of some of the objects located by the surveys, to recover tyres and other marine litter, and to investigate any potential heritage sites.
The Crowdfunder seeks to produce a feasibility study that looks at more ways to recycle tyres, plastics and GRP; to create training material for the divers recovering tyres and other junk; to develop an interactive website showing the progress of the project; and to create an app that shows the location of each tyre or object and lets volunteers report back when they have been identified or recovered.
Photo credit: The Ships Project
