Sink or swim?

Threatened barge community leads on green solutions Twenty-eight households living on river barges near Tower Bridge have been crowned the best recyclers in Southwark. The recycling rate at Downings Roads Moorings is 65%, way above the borough average of 7.2% and one of the highest rates in London. In addition to recycling newspaper, glass and cans, the residents use worm bins to turn kitchen and garden waste into compost. The green fingered residents have cultivated plants down below and on deck and have created London’s only floating gardens. Six garden barges, one of which is dedicated to trees including weeping ash, quince, apple and ribinia, help promote the biodiversity of the area. Bird species include cormorants, great crested grebes, mallards, greylags, shags and yellow wagtails - and one resident has become expert at reviving injured birds before releasing them back on to the river. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the model community on this 200-year old barge road is under threat. Despite support from the public and luminaries such as Ken Livingstone, Southwark Council is trying to evict them. - Esther Maughan

7 July 2004

Esther Maughan McLachlan