To mark Clean-Up Australia Day in March last year, the Redlands River Warriors team partnered with Redland Kayaks to determine the extent of marine debris in the upper reaches of Tingalpa Creek. Following the 3-hour survey, all 61 volunteers were taken aback by the 450kg (3,482 pieces) of rubbish found across a very small section of the river.
The alarming results reflected the extent of marine pollution in the area, the need to determine its source and, perhaps most importantly, raise awareness to address it.
Following the initial study in 2019 and sponsored by a Redland City Council Community Grant, the River Warriors team conducted a further 12 surveys over a period of 9 months. The surveys were designed to evaluate the extent of debris across 6 individual transects, extending from the base of Tingalpa Reservoir to the mouth of the creek, which feeds into the Moreton Bay Marine Park (MBMP). The creek terrain posed a number of challenges for the team including strong tides, thick mangrove vegetation, steep muddy river banks and mosquitoes…lots of mosquitoes!
After each survey, the collected debris was taken ashore, weighed, sorted, counted and disposed of correctly, recycling where possible. All data was then uploaded into our ongoing database, as well as the Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) database to map debris Australia-wide. Throughout our surveys, it was clear that there was an obvious link between the debris found and the activities taking place along the river. The shallow upper reaches of the river contained vast amounts of single-use packaging and foam - presumably drawn in by stormwater runoff from local roads, parks and industrial areas.
Further downstream towards the mouth of the waterway, recreational and commercial fishing gear (especially fishing line and crab pots) were more common due to an increase in fishing and boating activities in the deeper water.
Across our surveys, the team collected a staggering total of 5,164 pieces of debris, weighing in at a whopping 745kgs (this was equivalent to around 206 pieces of debris per kilometre travelled). Our findings also reflected over 75% of the debris was made from plastic or polystyrene and that there were 4 unmitigated sources of debris coming into the waterway. Given these statistics, it was unsurprising that the Tingalpa Creek scored a ‘D’ in our Marine Debris Report Card.
As well as our team-based data collection surveys, we also highlighted the results of our public-facing Clean Up Australia Day survey separately in our Marine Debris Report. When the two results were combined we collected a total of 8,646 pieces of debris, weighing in at 1195kg!
So, what’s next?
The results from Phase l reinforce the importance of implementing the next two Phases of our River Warriors program, which aim to engage the community, government and local businesses in our work. This will be done through a variety of channels, including awareness programs, educational signage and active mitigation measures. The mitigation initiative will involve the exploration of strategic bin placement, installation of litter mitigation devices, enforcement and monitoring programs, as well as a broader assessment of other factors affecting overall ecosystem health (including water quality, erosion and riparian zone management).
PCFML’s River Warriors continue to work with communities across Queensland and New South Wales to ensure that ecologically important waterways move towards an ‘A’ grade rating on our Report Card in order to maximise their ecological, social, cultural and economic value.
We thank all of the 72 volunteers who contributed almost 300 hours to this incredibly important ongoing project!
