Volunteers recover two tonnes of waste from Basel’s Rhine

Volunteer divers have recovered around two tonnes of waste from the Rhine in Basel this year, including broken glass, mobile phones, shopping carts and weapons, SRF reports. The group Rheingeworfen says it has been clearing rubbish from the riverbed for five years.

The effort began when friends who regularly met along the river and swam in it became tired of people stepping on broken glass. They founded the Rheingeworfen association last year.

“It is great fun. It is like treasure hunting, while also doing something meaningful,” said Sarah Cathrein, who has been diving with the group since last year.

The divers have found a sewing machine, a message in a bottle and a denture. Other discoveries include bicycles, road signs, tin cans, glasses and mobile phones. Broken glass remains the most common type of waste.

“We could no longer watch how bad it was here,” association president Jeroen Dierssen said. “Broken glass was really the main problem at the beginning.”

He described a child’s message in a bottle as the group’s most beautiful and emotional find. The girl had written that she wanted to free Pippi Longstocking from Taka-Tuka Land. But clearing the river is a task without end, Dierssen said.

Rental vehicles, particularly electric scooters, have become a newer problem, said Nicole Ryf, a spokeswoman for Basel-Stadt’s Department of Construction and Transport. “That has increased enormously,” she said.

Cleaning the river with snorkels is physically demanding. The current can carry divers away, visibility is sometimes poor and they may have to hold their breath for a long time to reach objects on the riverbed. Some items are trapped in gravel that shifts during high water, while sharp-edged shells can become attached to them over time.

Some objects are so heavy that several people are needed to pull them ashore. In one case, the divers could recover only a single wheel from a bicycle wedged into the riverbed.

Diving instructor Stefanie Kohler joined the group this summer. She said she wanted to keep the city and the Rhine clean and cared deeply about protecting seas and lakes in Switzerland.

Responsibility for river waste remains unclear

Rheingeworfen president Dierssen believes the association is carrying out a government task. He said Basel is a tourist city, but visitors should not have to deal with dirty riverbanks or risk injury while swimming in the Rhine.

Ryf disagreed, saying Basel-Stadt is not required to clean the Rhine. The civil engineering department removes waste from all flowing waters, she said, but the Rhine is an exception because of its size. The canton does not have the necessary capacity, a boat or divers to clean the riverbank.

The canton checks and, when necessary, dredges the shipping channel, which runs about 50 metres from the bank. It does not regularly clean the area close to the shore. The canton removes waste washed ashore and commissions a company to recover larger quantities of rubbish found in the Rhine.

Federal water protection and environmental protection laws appear to leave some uncertainty over who is responsible for cleaning up waste in waterways. The Federal Office for the Environment said the Water Protection Act requires action to protect waters from harmful effects. However, litter and other waste that does not affect the physical, chemical or biological properties of the water fall under the Environmental Protection Act, which requires the cantons or municipalities to deal with them.