AMWRRO and Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) remove yet another huge load of rubbish from sensitive areas on Torrens Island.
Rubbish removed from Torrens Island
Over the past 9 years AMWRRO has been conducting rubbish removal operations on Torrens Island and collecting important data as each item removed is documented into survey reports. These reports allow us to track seasonal changes and therefore the rubbish that people and industry disregard into or around the Port River Estuary environments. AMWRRO has found a 75% increase in bait bags and foam esky’s in summer months verses that of winter months.
Unfortunately there is always commonly found industrial items opposite certain sites e.g. chemical drums, welding face masks, large plastic insulating items and buoys with long lengths of rope attached etc.; these items are found scattered across the western beaches of Torrens Island. Opposite the Torrens Island Markets and upstream from the North Arm region hundreds of plastic bag butts are found littering the pristine beaches of Torrens Island.
Hundreds of Plastic bag butts found on Torrens Island
This data is extremely important as all rubbish found on Torrens Island is considered floating debris due to the restricted access to the Island; this unfortunately means these items are also floating in and around Barker Inlet and the Port Rover Estuary regions 24/7, coming in contact with many marine species.
Torrens Island Markets every Sunday at North Arm
Last year AMWRRO and CVA crew removed a whopping 9.75 tons of rubbish from Torrens Island over 19 working days; 6 of which CVA crew attended and removed 4.5 tons. These efforts will again be mimicked in 2014 and beyond.
Additional educational campaigns will be launched in an attempt to reduce the amount of rubbish that is discarded in this extremely important and sensitive area.
A special thank you to all AMWRRO and CVA crew for dedicating so much time and effort to this operation and for continuing to support this important work. We look forward to working with you all in the next round of clean up days in 2014 and beyond.
