Plastic pollution
and floating trash in the water resources is an ever-growing global problem.
Not only it is dangerous for human beings, but also for the wildlife as well.
Luckily, sometimes the simplest and easiest solutions are proven to be the most
effective. This year the whole world heard about an Australian city Kwinana –
and for a good reason.
Back in March 2018
the city of Kwinana installed two drainage nets in Henley Reserve
The drainage nets
or so-called “trash traps” were placed in order to reduce the discharge of
waste from drainage systems. The nets are designed to prevent pollutants and
solid waste, carried by storm water from the local road network, from flowing
into the nature reserves. The trash traps were placed on the outlets of two
drainage pipes, located between residential and natural areas.
The nets,
including manufacture, installation and civil work, cost the city about $20,000
Trash traps were
proven to be extremely cost-effective, as manual labour (workers used to
collect the trash by hands) was reduced to a bare minimum. Traps are relatively
easy to install and when they get full – they are picked up with a crane.
After installation
in March, in a period of four months, the nets caught around 815lbs (370kg) of
trash
The collected
waste was transported into a sorting facility, where the green waste was then converted
into mulch and recyclable/non-recyclable materials were separated. The city’s
residents are glad that the nets were proven to be such an extremely successful
project. The local wildlife benefited as well – not only do they live in a
cleaner area, but the trash traps are not dangerous for them, as to date no
animal has been caught up in either of the nets.
Mayor Carol Adams
says that the local community was always concerned about environmental
initiatives
“We know that the Kwinana community is very passionate about environmental initiatives and rallies around actions with positive environmental impact and if it was not for the drainage nets, 370kg of debris would have ended up in our reserve,” Adams added.
After the city
officials made a post on Facebook about the project, it went viral in just
under 48 hours
“The success of the post with over 27k shares, 92k likes and 13k loves in just 48 hours from people all over the world, just goes to show how important it is for government at all levels to really start to focus on environmental initiatives such as these and realise that small actions can have big impacts,” Mayor Adams said.
The city of Kwinana is planning to install two additional drainage nets in the year 2019. The city has decided that it is the most efficient and cost-effective way of keeping the water trash-free. Imagine – if 815lbs of trash were collected in only four months, how much can be collected in a year or two? Hopefully, other places will follow the example of Kwinana and install nets in their cities as well.
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