Crazy Kayaking the Tirino River, Abruzzo! The cleanest river in Europe!?

This summer we kayaked with our SUP kayak kits down the Tirino River, which is often regarded as the clearest river in Europe. And there are certainly parts where that is true. But by the time the waters reach the nearby town of Bussi and beyond they are heavily polluted with rubbish, debris and in fact dangerous levels of mercury and other toxic metals. This is thanks to nearly 30 years of illegal chemical waste disposal at the hands of a petrochemical company previously based in Bussi.

Mercury levels in the water massively exceed what are considered legally safe and were last registered as recently as 2017. Those at the industrial chemical sites at Bussi who were responsible for the dumping and burying of toxic waste in and around the river were acquitted in 2014 because the statute of limitations had passed on the crime, which came to light in 2007 nearly 30 years after the dumping and burying of chemical waste here started. These toxins are considered a threat to aquatic life, including fish, to other animals consuming the water of this river and of course to humans themselves. These nefarious acts led to polluting the drinking water of 700,000 local people with highly toxic carcinogens.

Petrochemical companies like the one in Bussi which destroyed any hope of a reputation for the Tirino as the cleanest river in Europe are responsible for producing 20 million metric tonnes of hazardous waste annually in the United States alone, according to the US environmental protection agency, but exact figures for Europe are harder to find. These companies are notoriously culpable in soil contamination and the contamination of waterways as in the case of the Tirino as well as engaging in the unsustainable consumption of non-renewables and producing a whopping 18% of all industrial CO2 emissions. In countries where regulation is limited or corruption is prevalent, untreated hazardous waste dumping is the norm and many wealthy countries pay for developing countries to take their hazardous waste because it is cheaper than dealing with it properly. It’s then dumped in poor countries where it contaminates the waterways and soil of some of the poorest people in the world.

These companies take oil and gas and turn it into plastic, industrial chemicals, pesticides and even pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. But we don’t need all these chemicals and all this plastic and we don’t have to subscribe to these industries. And it’s easy to disempower these companies by saying NO to plastic wherever possible; including in the clothes that we buy, by buying natural materials instead (especially hemp), by buying organic foods and by using natural cosmetics and natural medicines wherever possible. By saying no to these products you are helping yourself, your community, innocent people and ultimately everyone.

Thankfully the navigable areas of the Tirino are all above Bussi and so the water there isn’t affected by any industrial pollution and is safe to canoe.

chapters:
0:00 Crash!
0:06 Arriving in Capodacqua
1:10 Swimming in the Tirino
1:42 Ready to put the SUPs in the river
3:00 Launching the SUPs
3:43 A series of unfortunate incidents
7:40 An embarrassing meeting
9:02 Is the Tirino River really that clean?
11:10 Lunch break
11:58 Finally some calm
13:50 Jake falls in the water
15:10 Meeting other canoeist
15:20 We got stuck!
15:45 Rapids
17:09 At the end

Resources:
https://juniperpublishers.com/rapsci/pdf/RAPSCI.MS.ID.555607.pdf
https://www.ansa.it/english/news/general_news/2014/12/19/all-defendants-cleared-over-bussi-dump_784a02bf-952f-49ca-99f6-0a42954fe05b.html
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347663654_Environmental_status_of_an_Italian_site_highly_polluted_by_illegal_dumping_of_industrial_wastes_The_situation_15_years_after_the_judicial_intervention
https://arts.units.it/retrieve/handle/11368/2959790/317406/11368_2959790_Post_Print.pdf
https://earthjustice.org/features/petrochemicals-explainer
https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Greenhouse-Gas-Emissions-from-New-Petrochemical-Plants-Background-Information-Paper-for-the-Elaboration-of-Technical-Notes-and-Guidelines-for-IDB-Projects.pdf
https://juniperpublishers.com/rapsci/pdf/RAPSCI.MS.ID.555607.pdf
Sustainable shopping:
Clothes
https://www.toadandco.com/
https://tentree.co.uk/
https://www.levi.com
https://www.summersalt.com
https://www.bodenusa.com
https://www.thereformation.com
https://www.onequince.com
https://www.patagonia.com

Shoes
https://www.8000kicks.com
https://www.sayebrand.com

Mattresses
https://www.avocadogreenmattress.com/
https://kipli.com

Makeup
https://plasticfreedom.co.uk/pages/plastic-free-makeup

For the best shampoos and soaps try the no-poo method!! Or watch this space for home made olive oil soap!

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