Friends of the Dart – how every household can help
Friends of the Dart have put together a printable guide (at the bottom of this article) that you can put on your fridge with tips to help the river. https://www.friendsofthedart.org/.
Published: 12 November 2026
START A FAT JAR. Keep an old jar or tub by the cooker, pour cooled fat and oil into it, and bin it when full. Nothing greasy down the sink.
FIT A SINK STRAINER to catch food scraps before they go down the plughole (avoid using a sink waste disposal unit).
PUT GENERAL WASTE & RECYCLING BINS in the bathroom and agree the house rule: only pee, poo and paper get flushed. Wipes, period products and anything else goes in the bin.
ROUND UP OLD MEDICINES from the back of the cabinet and take them to any pharmacy. Never flush them or pour them away.
DO A FIVE-MINUTE LEAK CHECK. Listen for a hissing or dripping loo cistern; a leaky loo can waste between 200 and 400 litres a day.
ORDER A WATER BUTT for your downpipe(s), so your roof water helps the garden instead of rushing to the drain.
MOVE THE CAR WASH ONTO GRASS OR GRAVEL, or use a commercial car wash, so dirty, soapy water soaks away instead of running to a surface drain.
CHECK THE DATE OF YOUR DOG’S LAST FLEA TREATMENT. After a spot-on treatment, no doggie swimming for at least four days, and ask your vet whether routine treatment is needed at all or can be reduced to certain times of the year.
BAG IT AND BIN IT. Put dog poo into any public or household bin.
PUT THE RIVER IN YOUR POCKET. Log onto the Friends of the Dart River Hub (riverhub.friendsofthedart.org) and save the Environment Agency’s 24-hour Incident Hotline number: 0800 80 70 60 remember to always ask for feedback on your report.
