From golf balls to car tires, water sports clubs clean up Turnhout’s Mellevijver

About 50 divers and numerous volunteers descended on Mellevijver in Turnhout to remove rubbish from the water and its shores. The cleanup brought together clubs that use the lake beside the E34, including fishing, sailing, surfing and diving groups.

Most of what they collected consisted of bottles, cans, packaging and cigarette ends. But the divers also found three car tires and dozens of golf balls. The clubs said they had no idea how the unusual items ended up in the water.

The participating organizations included diving clubs KDS, Amfibie, Argos and De Zeekat, along with sailing club vvw Turnhout. Volunteers gathered the waste in jute sacks, working both underwater and around the lake’s banks. Swimming is prohibited at Mellevijver.

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I think it is very important that we respect our nature.

Volunteer Tamara Vlaeymans said the cleanup reflected the need to respect the natural environment. “I think it is very important that we respect our nature,” she said. The beaches and greenery around the lake are used for enjoyment in summer, she added, making it important to keep them clean.

Rik Olievier, chairman of the Kempische Duikschool, said many people had visited during a warm summer and left rubbish behind. Plastic packaging had begun breaking into small pieces, he said, while cans and bottles had also been thrown along the shore or into the water. The clubs wanted to restore a clean Mellevijver for the rest of the year.

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We are going to clean it up so that we have a clean Mellevijver again for the rest of the year.