Catch it in the Catchment Report
A community clean-up of kanamaluka / The Tamar Estuary Sunday November 10 2019
Figure 1: Clean-up site locations
25 sites, 300 participants, 200 bags of rubbish
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kanamaluka / Tamar Estuary - an Asset Worth Preserving The kanamaluka / Tamar Estuary is a 70km long estuary occupying a drowned river valley. Brackish, due to its tidal range reaching as far as the confluence of the North and South Esk rivers, the estuary dominates the largest catchment in Tasmania, covering over 20% of Tasmania (about 11,000km2). Launceston, the major regional city located at the head of the kanamaluka/ Tamar Estuary, is one of the many settlements scattered along the estuary’s length. The valley has a range of land uses and in recent years, an increased focus on the Tamar has challenged communities to re-evaluate the way they view this waterway and recognise its cultural, economic, social and ecological values. The kanamaluka/Tamar estuary displays a range of habitats and corresponding biodiversity and is a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA). KBAs are internationally recognised areas of high conservation value. The Tamar KBA extends from Launceston to the Batman Bridge. The Tamar Wetlands is the core area with greater habitat diversity than anywhere else on the Estuary. The bird life on the wetlands is spectacular, both in numbers and diversity, over 60 species – a reflection of the diverse habitat. There are 110 species of fish in the waterway and biodiversity ’hotspots’ are inhabited by soft corals, sponges and kelp forests, Figure 2: Burrowing crayfish located in the supporting animals such as: anemones, molluscs, crustaceans kanamaluka/Tamar near Launceston. Source: and Weedy Sea Dragons. The estuary mouth is a declared Shark https://www.examiner.com.au/story/6417668/a- Refuge Area. Recently, burrowing crayfish were discovered in cray-zy-fish-find-on-river/ the upper reaches of the estuary in Launceston. QVMAG’S David Maynard remarked: “In the lower kanamaluka/ Tamar Estuary there a number of ‘biodiversity hotspots’ and amongst the animal assemblage, there are many species yet to discover.” As well as the estuary’s important biodiversity values, businesses also place an important value on the Tamar. Alfie Gude, Manager of Tamar River Cruises, understands the importance of ensuring the Tamar is well maintained "It is of a high value importance to all businesses in the area. As tourist numbers grow in the north of the state, the Tamar specifically draws tourist attention to Launceston and the Tamar Valley." With a direct link to Bass Strait and Marine environments, the kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary catchment guides overland, urban and stream flow into the estuary, and along with it, litter. Wind-blown litter, and that which is unintentionally or illegally dumped, also makes its way into the estuary and its tributaries. The relationship between catchments and marinepollution is clear to the Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies (IMAS), Adrift Lab team. Headed by Dr Jenn Lavers, the team’s ongoing research draws attention to the alarming impact of plastic pollution onmarine life such as seabirds. https://adriftlab.org/ “Considering our research concentrates on the impact of plastic pollution on marine life, mainly sea birds, we know the importance of these events (clean-up days) to help stop the 80% of plastics that enter our oceans via the catchments where we live”, quoted Dr Jenn Lavers. Because of all the different values of the kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary, and the impacts litter has on them, Tamar NRM decided to run a whole of catchment, community clean-up event in 2019 - Catch it in the Catchment.
Catch it in the Catchment – What Tamar NRM Aimed to Achieve To remove rubbish from the kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary, as it is detrimental to its ecological health, aesthetic value and economic potential To increase the communities' understanding of the impact human activities and behaviours can have on the waterways in the Catchment. To offer a broad range of stakeholders an opportunity to participate in a positive community action as a way of responding to the problem of litter in the estuary. Tamar NRM's Catch it in the Catchment Report 2019 Page 2 | 12
Making a Start – the Event Launch July 30th marked the final day of Plastic Free July and the promotion of the first ‘Tamar Valley’ clean-up event – Tamar NRM's Catch it in the Catchment. A significant date, as it was anticipated that plastics might form the bulk of rubbish collected. Tamar River Cruises hosted the launch during a short cruise from Home Point to Cataract Gorge. Representatives aboard included – Tamar NRM, City of Launceston Council Mayor, West Tamar Council Mayor, Clean Up Local, TBUG (Tasmanian Bicycle Users Group), TAC - Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, Plastic Free Launceston, IMAS Adrift Lab and local community group representatives. Presentations and reflections about the kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary were delivered by Tamar NRM’s Greg Lundstrom, West Tamar’s Mayor - Christina Holmdahl, NRM North’s - Dr Darcy Leong, City of Launceston Waste Management Officer- Michael Attard and IMAS Adrift Lab researcher - Dr Morgan Gilmour. Media attending and covering the event included - WIN News, Chanel 7 News, The Examiner Newspaper and ABC Radio.
Event Promotion to the Community The Catch it in the Catchment event relied on local media outlets assisting to promote the event to ensure wide scale community engagement in the months leading up to November 10th. Event promotion and media coverage included: ABC Radio interview on Belinda King’s Breakfast program - with Trish Haeusler and Michael Attard, City of Launceston Council Waste Management Officer ABC Radio pre-recording of local school children’s promotion Catch it in the Catchment jingle City Park Radio – interview with Trish Haeusler LAFM – Interview with Tamar NRM’s, Greg Lundstrom ABC Radio Saturday morning show - Joel Rhinberger’s interview with Tamar NRM's Gill Basnett. Promotion by George Town FM station Posters/ Flyers distributed to cafes, businesses and community centres in George Town, Greens Beach, Beaconsfield, Gravelly Beach, Beauty Point, Exeter and Launceston Dedicated Facebook page Local promotion by site coordinators – local posters, letter box drops, social media Visits to schools and community centres Flyers at Harvest Market and local businesses.
Partnerships Table 1: The main partnerships that made Catch it in the Catchment possible.
Clean up Australia Plastic Free Launceston
City of Launceston NRM North Council
George Town Council
West Tamar Council
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A Community Response
Figure 3: Launceston Rock Climbers on the Zig Zag Track Figure 4: North Esk Group
The Catch it in the Catchment clean-up event attracted a range of participants including community and local service groups, sporting clubs and students, as well as individuals who joined in at sites identified. With a total of 300 participants, covering 25 clean-up sites, the response suggests that communities are prepared to give up a small amount of their time to be involved in an event they believe is important and achievable. Table 2: Catch it in the Catchment statistics Number of registered clean-up sites 25
Number of volunteer participants 300
Total Volunteers hours estimate 900
Kilograms of rubbish bagged (large items not included) 1178
Figure 5 Harper from Clean Up Local Number of bags collected 200
Table 3: Clean-up site locations East Tamar Launceston West Tamar 1. Low Head – Lulworth 5. Faulkner Park - NRM North 13. Legana – Legana Foreshore Community Association 6. Newnham Creek - TBUG Group 2. George Town 7. North Esk river at Esk Market - 14. Rowella – Local residents 3. Bell Bay - Tamar Yacht Scotch Oakburn 15. Tail Race - Youth Advisory Club 8. River Bend - Clean Up Local Council of West Tamar 4. Hillwood Progress 9. Home Point/ Royal -Park Plastic 16. Rosevears - Local Community Association Free Launceston 17. Gravely Beach – West Tamar 10. South Esk River/ Cataract Gorge - Landcare Group Northern Climbers Club Tasmania 18. Swan Point - Local Community 11. Tamar Rowing Club site - Tamar 19. York Town – Kelso Fire Brigade Rowing Club members and 20. Little Swan Point - Launceston Trevallyn Primary School Field Naturalists and Exeter Girl 12. Kings Meadows Rivulet - Guides Launceston Field Naturalists and 21. Clarence Point – Local residents Friends of Punchbowl Reserve and Friends of Clarence Point 22. Redbill Point - Friends of Redbill Point 23. North Arm - Kelso Fire Brigade 24. Greens Beach - Kelso Fire Brigade
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How the clean-up morning progressed Between 9 am – 12 pm on Sunday November 10, participants met site coordinators at one of 25 sites along the east and west Tamar or at a Launceston site. All participants were required to register with Clean Up Australia (this was done on-line or on the day at each site) and were briefed about the following before commencing: Safety (Tamar NRM completed a risk assessment to cover potential hazards at sites prior to the event) First aid if required Clean-up area Weighing and auditing rubbish methods Rubbish collection sites.
All the smaller items of rubbish was bagged and left along with any larger items at the designated sites for Council pick-up. The three Councils involved in the event assisted with the rubbish collection on the day after the event. In Launceston, two skips were provided free of charge by - one at the Riverbend site, to service three close-by working groups, and the second at Tamar Rowing Club. The skips proved to be a preferred option, as bags could be emptied to be reused on the day and for future clean- up events. Figure 6: Emptying rubbish into Veolia skip at Riverbend
Figure 7: Kelso Fire station rubbish drop off site
Figure 8 Rosevears Group
Figure 9: Field Naturalists – Kings Meadows rivulet. Figure 10 Nancy from Hillwood Progress Association.
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Rubbish audits and collecting information Each site coordinator arranged the group to: Weigh bagged rubbish Audit one bag of rubbish using the Clean-Up Australia rubbish checklist data sheet Separate containers listed for the Container Refund Scheme (to be introduced into Tasmania in 2022). The containers were used in school-based activity discussed further in the report. A total of 1178 kilograms of rubbish was collected in approximately 200 bags! Figure 11 provides a breakdown of rubbish per site. Items most commonly bagged were cigarette packets and butts, chip, confectionary and other food plastic wrappers, plastic straws and lids and plastic and glass drink containers. Larger items were collected but not weighed such as: car bumper, broken bollard, car strut, wheelie bin, car battery, shopping trolley, chair, car tyres, car seat, metal pipe and sheeting and concrete. Considering the varying size of groups and the clean-up areas, the data collected can provide some indication of the sites with greater accumulation of rubbish, and sites that appear to have been overlooked for rubbish clean- ups.
site rubbish collected by weight - (excludes larger items - tyres, scrap metal, etc)
200 180 180 160 140 130 114 120 100 90 90 72 kilograms 80 61 64.5 60 60 45 48 60 36 40 40 21.5 12 12 15 17 20 10 0
Clean-up sites
Figure 11: Total kilograms of bagged rubbish per site. Note: Kelso Collection Site included Redbill Point, York Town, Clarence Point, West Arm, Kelso and Greens Beach sites. As might be expected, by being closer to a more populated urban area, the Launceston sites show a higher proportion of rubbish than those areas further down the estuary towards the kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary mouth. Newnham Creek, near the Launceston Waste Station, had the greatest by weight amount of bagged rubbish collected. Feedback suggests that much of the rubbish might be originating from the Launceston Waste Station and is wind-blown to the adjacent creek area. Riverbend, an area growing in popularity, the Zig Zag track and around the Esk Market, all had higher values and experience lager numbers of people using the areas. Unlike the Newnham Creek site, some sites are known to be more popular locations for community clean-up events, consequently, the amount of rubbish collected was less. Royal Park experiences several clean-up days during the year, and as a result, only a smaller quantity of rubbish was collected. Similar reasons for smaller amounts of rubbish collected were mentioned for sites such as Hillwood and Gravelly Beach. Generally, sites that were further towards the mouth of the estuary had a lower incidence of rubbish that was bagged. However, these same areas (more commonly found in quieter and less obvious locations) had a greater number of larger items collected such as tyres, scrap metal, and car body parts - illegally dumping obviously occurs. Bell Bay was mentioned as a litter ‘hot spot’ requiring future attention.
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Rubbish Audits Due to time limitations and the windy conditions playing havoc with auditing at some sites, not all groups were able to complete a rubbish audit. Four of the locations selected and represented in the graphs below, provide a ‘snapshot’ of the types of litter collected at sites and what material the litter is composed from. Each of these sites selected a random bag to audit using the Clean Up Australia Day auditing sheet. Plastics were the most represented litter type collected, with plastic food packaging and plastic drink bottles dominating. Glass bottles also dominated many sites, as did broken glass pieces. As to be expected, biodegradable materials such as paper, cardboard and wood were less represented. Polystyrene was noticed at most sites, but often too degraded and pieces too small to collect. Larger metal items were found in areas more isolated and presumably illegally dumped.
Number of items found per material type per site 400
350
300
250 Plastic
200 Polystyrene Glass
150 No. Items No. Items Found Paper/ Cardboard 100 Metal 50 Other 0 Hillwood Royal Park/ Home Zig Zag Track/ Gravelly Beach Point Cataract Gorge Site Audited
Figure 12: Number of items per material type in the four sites audited (one random bag audited per site).
Percentage litter by material type
7% 1% 9%
12% 51% 2%
18%
Plastic Glass Polystyrene Paper / Cardboard Metal Wood Other
Figure 13: Total percentage litter by material type
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Rubbish Audits are a messy activity, but they do have the value of highlighting the types of litter found at different sites. Plastic straws, drink containers and food packaging tend to be found in in recreational areas close to food outlets. It is anticipated that with a greater understanding of what items dominate the litter audit, progress can be made to identify what litter types need to be targeted to be reduced. Public education, Government actions (such as the Container Refund Scheme) or action by manufacturers and retailers all have a role to play to see a reduction in waste pollution.
Figure 14: Plastic Free Launceston - Home Point, Royal Park.
Figure 15: West Tamar Landcare - Gravelly Beach
Figure 16: Hillwood Progress Association - Hillwood
Figure 17: NRM North - East Tamar
Figure 18: Exeter Girl guides and Launceston Field Naturalists - Little Swan Point
Figure 19: West Tamar Council Youth Advisory Council - Tailrace
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Interesting Items!
Other litter collected Too many Cigarette butts Dog Poo bags Wet wipes Tyres Cigarette Lighters Some Electronic waste Clothing Shopping trolleys Carpet Scrap metal Thongs/gumboots Chairs Wheelie Bin Fish Farm Waste And a Golf Club Car Battery Sadly Fishing line with bird’s foot attached
Geology hammer!
Figure 20: Some of the more interesting items of rubbish collected!
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Trevallyn Primary School - Getting ready for the Container Refund Scheme Trevally Primary School hosted the follow-up event, which included counting containers collected at the clean- up sites. Thanks to the children from Ms Hollinsworth’s Year 5 class for helping to sort and count 30 bags of containers! This activity engaged children and increased their understanding of: Catchments – What is a catchment and what is our relationship to the catchment we live in and its connection to the kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary and marine ecosystems? The impact litter pollution can have on the estuary. Plastics are prone to disintegration into smaller plastics and eventually microplastics and picoplastics that can enter ecosystem food chains. What actions can be taken at school and in our community to reduce litter? 2022 is earmarked for the introduction of the Tasmanian Container Refund Scheme. https://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/Documents/Draft%20Waste%20Action%20Plan.pdf To highlight the importance of this scheme, and the impact it can have on reducing the number of containers that presently have no value (and make up a large proportion of litter along our roads and waterways), the Catch it in the Catchment event collected and separated containers listed for this scheme. Even if half these containers were diverted into a container refund scheme before they reached the waterways, it would make a huge difference.
Table 4: Results of Container Refund Scheme counting activity CONTAINER REFUND Glass Metal Plastic Total number of SCHEME SAMPLE containers
Glass 26% Plastic 483 623 735 1841 40% Metal/ Aluminium 34%
Figure 21: Proportion of containers sorted by material type
Figure 22 Trevallyn Primary School Grade 5 pupils Sophie Ryan and Casey Ayton. Source https://www.examiner.com.au/story/6520538/kids-do-their-own-container-deposit-scheme/ Tamar NRM's Catch it in the Catchment Report 2019 Page 10 | 12
Celebrating a Job Well Done At the completion of the clean-up event, all participants were invited to attend the BBQs, funded by Tamar NRM and local groups, held at three locations central to clean-up sites. Local community service clubs kindly assisted with the BBQ’s. These groups included: George Town - Gorge Town Lions Club Riverbend in Launceston – Windmill Hill Lions Club Kelso – Kelso Fire Brigade Gravelly Beach – Exeter Rotary Club Feedback about the BBQ’s was positive suggesting they provided an opportunity for participants to talk about the clean-up and meet new people from their community who share a similar motivation to keep the kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary litter free. The BBQS also provide an opportunity to gather participants and discuss other sites and groups that could be involved in next year’s event.
Figure 23: Windmill Hill Lions Club End of Clean-up Thank you BBQ
Conclusion - Benefits of a Community Clean-up With the 300 volunteers who signed up to participate in the Catch it in the Catchment event and the overall quantity of rubbish collected, this inaugural event can only gather further momentum as new groups and sites are identified for next year’s clean-up. The extent of interest the community has in maintaining a rubbish free kanamaluka/Tamar is evident by the support shown at this year’s event. A growing community understanding of the physical and ecological features of the estuary and a ground swell of interest and support in the community to address waste management issues, with initiatives such as the Container and Refund Scheme, make such an event a timely and effective response to a community desire to be part of the solution. Collectively, the public education resulting from the event, partnerships with local government, businesses, schools and community groups, all result in a clean-up model that is effective and whose goals are achievable.
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Now, That is a Better Look! BEFORE AFTER
Figure 24: Before and after pictures at Newnham Creek near Launceston Waste Management Centre: Courtesy of TBUG Acknowledgements Appreciation and thanks extended to: Clean Up Australia – dedicated page for group registrations NRM North - Dr Darcy Leong for supplying all scales used to weigh bags West Tamar, George Town and the City of Launceston - removal of rubbish from clean-up sites. Exeter Rotary Club - BBQ George Town Lions Club - BBQ Windmill Hill Lions Club - BBQ Banjos Bakery – Free Bread for BBQs Adrift Lab Team IMAS - Support Veolia – Waste pick up in Launceston Trevallyn Primary School Tamar NRM would like to say a big THANK YOU to all the site coordinators, and participating volunteers and to Trish Haeusler for coordinating the whole event!
Figure 25: West Tamar Council Youth Advisory Council Tailrace
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