anglersmail.com 9 JULY | 7YOUR ANGLING
WEEK AHEADUK Weather
CHANCE of a shower in
many areas before we all
move towards a dry and
quite warm weekend,
with sunny intervals and
daytime highs of 19-
Celsius, higher around
London. Light breeze.Anglers
TV
PICKMAILMONSTER CARP
IT’S back for a run of four new
episodes, beginning this week
in Croatia with an hour-and-
a-half-long special. Stars are
again Ali Hamidi, Neil Spooner
and Tom Dove. Read our full
preview in p.37.
ITV4, THURSDAY, 8PM.Lunar
predictions
Exclusive forecasts for
the week July 9-15 by
leading astrologer Marion
Williamson.
TUE: a peaceful Libra Moon
is poked by aggressive Pluto- your lazy day could be
rudely interrupted, so have
another venue in mind just
in case.
WED: the intuitive Scorpio
Moon loves a mystery, so a
challenging session could be
a good thing... you won’t be
beaten.
THU: best day of the week for
a PB, with a watery Scorpio
Moon and fishy Neptune in
a fortunate angle – glorious
potential!
FRI: an adventurous
Sagittarian Moon thrives
on variety today, so guard
against getting complacent,
and try something a bit
different.
SAT: the Moon and pushy
Mars makes for a winning
combination, lending you
extra stamina and heaps
of energy. Consider an
overnighter.
SUN: an earthy Capricorn
Moon likes to do things
slowly but surely – and
always wins in the end.
Prepare for a long session.
MON: there’s an element of
the unexpected today, with
Uranus surprising the Moon.
It could be an unusual fish,
or it could be that goats keep
your company.
C
ONCERN is growing about
the impact of microplastics
and detergents discharged
every day from washing
machines into our rivers.
About ten per cent of
machines, usually those in
outbuildings, garages and
some extensions, do not
get connected to the mains
drainage, which then goes onto
sewerage treatment plants.
But they get connected to
the rain drains, meaning that
the discharge goes directly into
river systems untreated.
Environmentalist and
Angler’s Mail reader Alan Staley
explained: “The consequence
of this waste entering the
watercourse is much more
algae, as the phosphates in the
detergents ‘feed’ the algae.
“I know of one reservoir near
me in the Severn-Trent area
that has been affected by this
run-off, but it is very difficult for
the EA and water companies to
trace the origins.
“I have reported incidents,
but each individual discharge is
small, and it is the cumulative
impact that is the problem.
“All households need the
information about what
drains to connect to. Building
inspectors also need to check
extensions connect to the right
drain – not just any drain.
“I just hope that we can get
anglers to understand the
problem and check that their
own washing machines are
connected properly.
“To make matters worse, it
has been discovered that the
waste contains micro plastics,
which end up in the food chain,
including fish and ultimately us.“Each machine wash of
artificial fibres can shed up to
700,000 microplastics into our
ecosystem.
“Microplastics are now in our
rivers and oceans, our fish, our
salt, our food chain – we need
to stem the flow at the source.
“Washing manufacturers
have the technology already
to add appropriate filters, but
chose not to, unless there is
consumer pressure.Washing machines
are harming rivers
l Microplastics and detergents l Petition for filters is growing
“A parliamentary petition
has been set up to force
manufacturers to install
microplastic filters on new
washing machines as standard,
and all anglers should try to
sign it,” he concluded.
The petition has already
reached 15,991 signatures and
received a detailed written
response from the Government,
which states that there are noplans to introduce legislation to
make filters compulsory.
The Government has set a
target to eliminate all avoidable
plastic waste within the lifetime
of the 25-year Environment
Plan (by 2042), and set aside
£20 million for research and
development managed through
the Plastics Innovation Fund.
The petition is online at
petition.parliament.uk/
petitions/Concern is growing
about washing
powders and platics.“ Each machine wash of
artificial fibres can shed up
to 700,000 microplastics
into our ecosystem. ”
Environmentalist and Angler’s Mail
reader Alan Staley