Protect Our Waterways Competition Winners Announced!

This summer, our Protect Our Waterways campaign encouraged everyone to take action against litter before it reaches our rivers, beaches, and seas. We were thrilled to see so many passionate entries across our competition categories. from litter picks to creative crafts - all championing cleaner, healthier waterways.

Best Litter Pick

Mary from Tendring – At 84, Mary is a true community hero! She’s regularly out on the beachfront keeping her local area spotless and proving that every action, big or small, makes a difference.

Poster Design Winners

Alexandra (aged 25) from Corby – A volunteer litter picker whose powerful artwork showed how litter travels through waterways and harms wildlife.

Rayna (aged 8) from Newcastle – Her bright, imaginative poster captured the importance of keeping our blue spaces clean and full of life.

Sea Creature Craft Winner

Danielle (aged 12) from Tendring – Danielle wowed us by creating sea creatures from recycled litter collected during a beach clean — a wonderful mix of creativity and care for the planet!

We’re so inspired by the hard work, creativity, and passion of everyone who took part. Together, we can all make a difference and continue to #ProtectOurWaterways.

A huge thank you to our prize partners:
WaterHaul – for donating litter pickers made from recovered and recycled marine plastics from the UK coastline 
OceanBottle – for gifting each winner one of their beautiful reusable bottles or coffee cups. For every bottle sold, Ocean Bottle funds the collection of 11.4kg of ocean-bound plastic — the equivalent of 1,000 plastic bottles!

Thanks to these generous donations, each of our winners will receive their own Waterhaul litter picker and an Ocean Bottle in one of their signature colours. A perfect reminder of how innovation and community action can protect our blue planet.