Updated: 2 October 2025
Canal clean-ups resumed on 2 September 2025 with a team of 10 enthusiastic litter pickers part of HR teams from Hilton London Metropole. Starting their team away day with a breakfast at the Hilton London Metropole, the eager team were fully fuelled to lead a morning of litter picking on the canal. The day started in sunshine and ended with drizzle, but everyone aboard had a great time, particularly as a family of ducks and ducklings accompanied the boats around Little Venice.
The HR team from Hilton London Metropole.
On 9 September 2025, two crews from Cirrus Logic, a global leader in technology solutions for the audio and electronics industries, took to the water. It was the second time in recent years the company gave their support for the canal clean-up, coming back in 2025 for a repeat visit despite a boat breakdown on their first visit. Luckily malfunctions are extremely rare, and all was shipshape this time around.
Cirrus Logic returned to the water in 2025.
On 30 September 2025, there were more returnees, this time from the London Hilton Metropole to coincide with its ‘Travel with Purpose’ Week which enables employees help contribute practically to its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy.
The most common items collected were plastic wrappers and plastic bottles, but also among the weird and wonderful items removed was a laminated sign which read ‘Please take your rubbish with you’!
Our canal clean-ups will continue into October with everyone hoping the winter weather stays away a little longer.
Volunteers hauled in a treasure trove of rubbish to keep the canal shipshape.
Thanks to our amazing crews of volunteers the canal is smooth sailing again.
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Updated: 29 July 2025
In the first half of 2025, employee volunteers from London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch, Tate & Lyle, Maxx Marketing and the Montcalm Collection joined our canal clean-ups helping rid a local waterway of plastic pollution.
Nine crews of 48 volunteer litter pickers between them cleared a total of 27 miles of Grand Union canal, back and forth along the stretch from Paddington basin via Little Venice along the west Route towards Maida Hill. The majority of crews took part in scorching sunshine with factor 50 needing to be regularly applied, however one unlucky team swapped sun cream for rain ponchos, as they braved the showers to take part.
Tate & Lyle volunteers braved the rain showers to help keep the canal clean.
The canal area is busy with commuters that travel via Paddington station, in addition to restaurant goers, residents and tourists that come to the area to enjoy its natural beauty. The canal, particularly around Little Venice, is home to a variety of wildlife, including ducks, geese and moorhens which are frequently spotted.
Unfortunately, litter blights can cause serious damage to the waterways. Crisp packets, plastic bags, bottles and cans are the main offending items. According to the Canal & River Trust research, around 14 million pieces of plastic rubbish ends up in our canals and rivers each year. This causes potential damage to waterside habitats and risks serious injuries, or even suffocation, of the wildlife.
Our partnership with GoBoat Paddington enables employee volunteers to safely take to the water and help keep the canal free from plastic pollution and rubbish.
The season kicked-off with two energised teams from the London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch, situated on George Street, taking to the waterways as part of The Great British Spring Clean in April 2025.
Three dedicated teams from food manufacturer Tate & Lyle, based at 5 Marble Arch, followed. The first two teams in May 2025 on a gloriously sunny day, with an additional Tate & Lyle team participating later in the summer and braving rain showers to help clear the canal.
Colleagues at Tate & Lyle prepare to set sail for their canal clean-up.
Tate & Lyle colleagues participating in the canal clean-up.
Tate & Lyle colleagues having completed their team challenge.
Next, we said ahoy to two eager teams from Maxx Marketing, a global licensing and product solutions agency based in Capital House, before the season ended on 24 June 2025 with two enthusiastic teams from the Montcalm Collection, boutique hotels including the recently refurbished Montcalm Mayfair on Great Cumberland Place.
The Maxx Marketing team at Little Venice.
Maxx Marketing having completed their team challenge.
The Montcalm Collection team.
We salute all our volunteer teams who participated in our canal clean-ups so far this year, helping make the local environment a safe and welcoming one for residents, tourists, workers and wildlife alike.