A car that has been lying in the River Lagan for several years has prompted an online petition demanding that Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council remove it. The Lagan Valley Greens, a local branch of the Green Party, says the abandoned vehicle is a long-standing source of pollution and that the council has failed to act.

The party says the car is located in a stretch of the river within the council's jurisdiction, close to the council's own offices. Environmental damage from submerged vehicles includes leaked motor oil, where a single litre can contaminate up to one million litres of water, creating films that deplete oxygen for aquatic life. Metals from the frame and brakes dissolve slowly, altering the riverbed's natural chemistry, while tyres and plastic components degrade into microplastics and release organic compounds. The physical bulk of the car can also change water flow patterns and cause localised erosion.

Richard Gill, a representative of the Lagan Valley Greens, said that leaving the car in the river for so long shows how neglect becomes accepted as normal. He warned that if the council and Stormont cannot resolve such an obvious pollution problem, public confidence in their ability to address larger environmental threats will be damaged. The group is calling for the car to be raised, for clear responsibility to be assigned, and for a wider clean-up plan for the Lagan.

Belfast councillor Anthony Flynn described the official response as unacceptable. He said the situation tests whether local agencies and the council will take ownership of visible, long-term pollution. Flynn noted that the car has been in the river for years in a well-used community area and that residents deserve action rather than justifications. He added that allowing this case to persist undermines efforts to tackle other instances of illegal dumping.