A bright orange waste bin which looks like a lifebuoy has been installed at Canary Wharf Pier to remind Thames riverboat commuters about plastic waste.

It has been placed with the tagline “throw marine a lifeline” as a hint that plastic waste in rivers ends up at sea and harms marine life.

The protect by GreenSeas Trust also includes learning sessions for youngsters at St Edmund’s and Harbinger primary schools at Millwall on the Isle of Dogs to teach them about the global environment.

East London Advertiser: Fazilette Khan and Emir Feisal from GreenSeas Trust with Lord Mayor William Russell (right) and Canary Wharf Group's Howard Dawber (far left) with new 'lifebuoy' waste bin.Fazilette Khan and Emir Feisal from GreenSeas Trust with Lord Mayor William Russell (right) and Canary Wharf Group's Howard Dawber (far left) with new 'lifebuoy' waste bin. (Image: Sean Pollock Photographer)

“Sometimes bins can blend into the background and people don’t use them,” the trust’s founder Fazilette Khan said.

“The colour and shape of this bin works on a subconscious level to remind people to reduce plastic waste.”

The promotion by Green Seas has been made possible by a £10,000 grant from City Bridge Trust, the charity arm of the City of London Corporation, with Lord Mayor of London William Russell officially inaugurating the lifebuoy waste bin.

The Isle of Dogs is one of the worst spots on the Thames for plastic waste, which gets caught in the bend in the river whenever the tide goes out, before ending up at sea.

East London Advertiser: Volunteers collecting waste washed up on the Thames foreshore along the Isle of Dogs.Volunteers collecting waste washed up on the Thames foreshore along the Isle of Dogs. (Image: Thames21)