Hundreds of volunteers were out picking up litter on the banks of the river Taff, all the way from Brecon to Cardiff Bay, but will they break the current record set last month at 329?
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00:00I'm here in Cardiff Bay and everyone here behind me is here for one thing.
00:06We're here to set a world record for the most people cleaning a river at multiple locations
00:10all at once.
00:11It's a little bit complicated, there are people all the way up the Taff.
00:14I'm here at the bottom one in Cardiff Bay and I'm going to find out what it means exactly
00:18to be setting the record here today.
00:20Every Guinness World Record title has a set of guidelines, very strict, we have to comply
00:24with them.
00:25So, one, it has to benefit the river, two, it has to be signed off by a marine biologist,
00:31somebody who can say, yes, their plan of clean-up actually is going to benefit it, and then
00:37every site has to have an environmental studies chap to verify that the clean-up happened,
00:43so there's one here, they'll act as a witness, we'll work together to watch the people cleaning
00:49the river.
00:50So, you can see it's a little bit windy, a little bit cold, and it might rain later today,
00:54but people are ready to go.
00:56People want to get involved in this, break a world record, but also to help tidy the
01:00river.
01:01I'm finding out why people have come here on a Friday to be a part of this.
01:05We've had lots of businesses, they've been getting in touch with us at Sevenestreet Partnership
01:08to say that they're taking part, so it's really good for all different people.
01:11I think there's youth groups and schools getting involved as well, so a huge range of people,
01:15which is great.
01:16The state of Cardiff at the moment so upsets me, a day doesn't go by when I don't feel
01:22how desperate the city's looking, and this is going to be a really small drop in the
01:27ocean, pun intended, but at least we're doing something.
01:31We're all members of the Youth Climate Ambassadors for Wales, and we heard about the opportunity
01:35through our group, and we wanted to come and help.
01:38Yeah, and I mean, for all of us, the environment is a very important issue, and the health
01:43of our rivers is obviously very topical at the moment.
01:45You know what, I think it's absolutely awesome, you know, the atmosphere here is incredible,
01:49and I think everyone here is just really looking forward to getting involved and getting
01:52stuck in and hoping to break this record.
01:55So I've got my litter pickers and my bag, and everyone here behind me is ready to go.
02:00Let's do it.
02:01Let's try and set a world record.
02:15So that's it, half an hour in the bag.
02:17I found plenty on my little litter pick, found a lot of polystyrene and bottles, and the
02:21rest of the people here certainly found a lot of rubbish.
02:24So the actual world record is 329 people, which was officially set last month in India
02:29on the Ganges River.
02:31So now we have to wait and find out if everyone here, including myself, is a world record
02:35holder.
02:37So since everyone's gone home, the count took place and the results are in.
02:41That's a whopping 1,327, which is now officially a world record.
02:46Kate Strong, the organiser, has said about the importance of raising awareness of pollution
02:50and litter in our rivers, and everyone who turned up from Bracken to the bay can pat
02:54themselves on the back and know that they were a part of something very special.