00:02Lurking in the river Laan, stuck deep in the mud, an old truck tire.
00:08A challenge for the Laan divers, a volunteer group aiming to clean up the river in their city.
00:16We all know rivers flow into the sea, so if you clean the rivers,
00:20you prevent microplastics and waste from entering the sea.
00:23That has a positive impact there too.
00:28A cut from broken glass in the river sparked the group's founding in the city of Marburg in 2020.
00:35The injured woman set out with friends to clean up the swimming area and found the river was a dump.
00:43Jonas has been part of the team for three years. He takes care of salvaging and transportation.
00:51We've just found a trumpet. That's pretty unusual.
00:55We more often find bicycles and roadwork signs.
01:02Underwater visibility is extremely poor, dangerous for divers who can get tangled up in fishing lines.
01:09So they use oxygen tanks, even though the river here is only a metre and a half deep.
01:14World War II munitions can also turn up, but fines are often more mundane.
01:20So far, the environmentalists have recovered around 20 tonnes of waste in over 100 dives.
01:26Every bit of waste removed counts.
01:30It's a huge task, but the land divers have set themselves a clear goal.
01:34To free their river of trash.
01:3660% of the rubbish is scrap metal, thoughtlessly tossed into the river, out of sight, out of mind.
01:43Raising public awareness of this fragile, complex habitat is just as important.
01:49Here's a European crayfish.
01:52Like many of her fellow divers, Annika is training to be a biologist.
01:58We have native mussel species. They filter water.
02:03If there are microplastics in the water, they filter less.
02:07These mussels can actually ensure our water is clean, but they can't if they can't filter.
02:12It's a bit frustrating when we see, often near bridges, three more shopping carts and two more bikes,
02:19where we just cleared a month ago.
02:23Educating the public is as vital as the dives themselves.
02:26At their information stand, the land divers showcase their most unusual finds.
02:31They have more than 15,000 followers on Instagram.
02:35Well-known green influencers like marine biologist, Robert Mart Lehmann, also support their cause.
02:43The group runs entirely on donations.
02:46In 2023, they won the Planet Hero Award and 110,000 euros in prize money.
02:52It came just in time, as diving and gear are costly.
02:57The Iran-born artist, Ehsan, is also an integral part of the team.
03:02He's going to create a sculpture from the trash.
03:07First of all, it's about visualisation.
03:10For example, two tons of rubbish means nothing.
03:14But when you see an image made from two tons of rubbish, you realise just how much it is.
03:23This time, Ehsan is going to try his hand at recreating one of Marburg's landmarks, the Kaiser Wilhelm Tower.
03:31Over the course of the day, he pieces together a 12-meter-long mosaic from the mud-smeared objects.
03:37A striking reminder of our throwaway culture.
03:41But the artwork, too, is short-lived.
03:44The very next morning, the scrap ends up at the local recycling centre.
03:49We'll see you later.
03:50Bye-bye.
03:50Bye-bye.
03:51Bye-bye.
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