Rubbish in our marine environment is a growing problem. Not only is it visually unappealing, it’s also a serious threat to wildlife and fish.
Much of this rubbish is washed out to sea from stormwater systems following heavy rain.
About six months ago, we installed 10 ‘Litta’ traps in the sumps in central Richmond to catch rubbish that otherwise would be washed into our stormwater system and end up in the marine environment.
A few weeks ago, when our stormwater and environmental education teams emptied the traps, they audited what was collected and got some interesting results.
Much of the debris collected was organic but contaminated with hydrocarbons like engine oil, diesel, petrol, heavy metals, and micro plastics.
In total, we collected just over 56 kilograms of material, including 1.3kg of plastic and 90 cigarette butts.
One Litta trap was home to a population of earthworms which was liberated into Council gardens.
We’ll repeat the audit of the traps in two months, aiming for a shorter period of rubbish accumulation to catch and sort it before the rubbish has had a chance to break down.
