Welsh Swimmer's Bid To Reveal Micro-Plastics Pollution.

An instructor is swimming quite sixty miles in rivers to get the extent of plastic pollution in a number of the UK's remotest areas. Laura Sanderson is collecting water samples from rivers in 3 Welsh national parks.

She has already swum sixteen miles (26km) on the Afan Glaslyn from close to the summit of Snowdon. The meliorist fears the results can show that micro-plastics square measure currently within the UK's water supply.

Inspired by her travels within the Pacific, the 37-year-old from Criccieth, Gwynedd, has set a few stringent challenges. She has swum "from supply to sea" on a watercourse in Snowdonia and this month can study rivers within the Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire Coast parkland.

However, she fears what the results from her "frog's eye view" could prove. "I wished a challenge however I conjointly wished to seek out one thing that may be helpful," she said.

"If we have a tendency to were to seek out microplastics in rivers as high as Snowdonia or in remote areas, we've got to raise however did it get there? It should be within the water-cycle. the sole method it may get there's by [rain]."

Laura braved the snow and icy water temperatures at a pair of,000ft up Crib Goch peak in Snowdonia, in April. topping at locations on the thanks to taking samples, she swam the length of the watercourse, together with four lakes, before finishing at the river's water at Porthmadog succeeding day.

However, even high within the mountains of Snowdonia, water samples weren't the sole factor Laura gathered. "I was very shocked to seek out such a big amount of cup lids and plastic bottles close to the highest of Snowdonia," she said.

"It was displeasing as a result of you'd have thought folks out walking would are additional thoughtful. there have been loads of brewage cans within the lake, that is fashionable fishermen. I even found a 1972 Pepsi Cola will below a bridge and many automotive elements, together with a complete front bumper and lights.

"Whenever we have a tendency to were about to roads there was loads of plastic that had most likely been thrown out of windows. "In a hundred years folks can remember at this point and suppose we have a tendency to were crazy."