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9 news articles

Bottles of river water with labelled chemical concentrations

The Rivers Trust at Wild Summit 2026 – revealing the extent of chemical pollution in the environment

  • Jack Hatcher
Communications Assistant, Jack Hatcher joined colleagues from The Rivers Trust at this year’s Wild Summit to take part in the Chemicals in the Wild event

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A blue tit looks at a bundle of animal hair it has collected

From our rivers to birds’ nests: how pet flea treatments are impacting the environment

  • The Rivers Trust
What’s the link between our waterways, our dogs, and the decline of our songbirds? Learn about pet paraciticides and chemical pollution with this guest blog by Emma Phipps from SongBird Survival 

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Hand in blue glove holding test tube with river in background

Tackling chemical pollution of freshwater: The need for a strategic approach

  • The Rivers Trust
Dr Rob Collins, Director of Policy and Science and Chemicals Lead at The Rivers Trust, discusses the growing threat from PFAS, microplastics, pharmaceuticals and pesticides, and highlights the need for stronger control at source, better monitoring, closer EU alignment, and a national chemicals strategy to tackle pollution in our freshwater ecosystems.

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pollution in river

The UK: The ​‘dirty man of Europe’ once again?

  • The Rivers Trust
  • Blog
The European Commission’s recent revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive provides a roadmap for an innovative, resource-efficient and sustainable management of wastewater. In comparison, the UK is falling short on chemicals.

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A grim green bath bomb dissolves in yellow water

Toxic Dips: The Rivers Trust launch the world’s most expensive (fake) bath bombs on eBay

  • The Rivers Trust
  • News
The three-piece set of ​‘Toxic Dips’ bath bombs is priced at £300,000, just 0.005% of the amount being spent to stop UK rivers deteriorating further over the next five years.

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A graphic contains the words Vote For Rivers

Vote for Rivers at the upcoming General Election

  • Emma Brisdion
  • News
This summer, join us as we #VoteForRivers, sending a clear message to all political parties that action for our precious waterways is vital and is an issue that we the public care strongly about.

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A camera is positioned at the surface of the water, with half the image showing green river plants and the other a blue sky

Chemicals in rivers; England’s aquatic life threatened by a cocktail of hazardous substances

  • The Rivers Trust
  • Blog
Research shows that the chemical mixtures in our rivers exacerbate the harmful effects of the individual hazardous substances, so the actual risks to our aquatic environments could be underestimated.

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A dead fish lies on a dark riverbank

Forever Chemicals: PFAS Contamination of Freshwater Fish

  • The Rivers Trust
  • News
Our recent analysis of government data shows the alarming persistence of ​‘forever’ chemicals in our rivers, present in fish populations at levels on average more than 300x the safe limits.

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River

Rivers Trust research highlights the chemical cocktails polluting our rivers

  • The Rivers Trust
  • News
Research by The Rivers Trust and Wildlife and Countryside Link has revealed that toxic chemical mixtures were found at more than 1,600 river and groundwater sites in England.

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