Members of the Women’s Institute from across England and Wales gathered on the banks of the River Wye this weekend, for a colourful campaign rally calling for healthier, plastic-free rivers.

The event, held on Saturday, October 4 at Monmouth Rowing Club as part of the WI’s third annual Week of River Action, united five WI federations from both sides of the border. They were joined by the Mayor of Monmouth, Jackie Atkin, and local MP Catherine Fookes, to celebrate the growing impact of the WI’s Clean Rivers campaign and to call for stronger protections for our waterways.

WI members staged a creative photo stunt on the riverbank, donning water-themed outfits and unveiling a unique example of WI ‘craftivism’, the “Loch Mess Monster”; to highlight the hidden menace of sewage and microplastics infiltrating our rivers, farmland and food chain.

Jill Rundle, Chair of NFWI-Wales addressed the rally saying: “The sewage crisis is also a plastics crisis. Sewage - both raw and treated - is a major pathway for microplastics and other harmful substances to enter nature and the food chain. Our new research, carried out by Opinium for the Week of River Action, shows that 44 per cent of the public have already changed their behaviour because they are concerned, and over half think that the government and polluters are not doing enough to tackle the issue.

“According to our survey, the UK public overwhelmingly supports stronger regulation and testing of sewage for microplastics, and want the Government to act. We don’t need any more Loch Mess Monsters!”

Since launching the Clean Rivers for People and Wildlife campaign in 2023, WI members have been at the forefront of grassroots action. From supporting bathing water applications and testing local water quality to organising river cleans, river walks and successfully calling for a review of the water system.

The WI’s third annual WI Week of River Action saw members across England and Wales come together once more to urge the government to get serious on microplastic pollution, through compulsory testing and regulation of sewage for microplastics, as well as a coherent plan for so-called ‘upstream solutions’ - such as microplastic filters in washing machines and better product design.