Drainage nets trap 3.6 tonnes of waste from Kwinana parks and reserves

Five drainage nets have stopped more than 3.6 tonnes of waste from polluting local parks and reserves in the City of Kwinana.

Mayor Carol Adams said two nets were installed six years ago at Henley Nature Reserve in Leda in March 2018 then went viral on social media.

“The City of Kwinana’s drainage nets quickly made social media headlines, and the City has since been inundated with phone calls and emails worldwide to find out more about this simple yet effective solution to prevent pollution,” Mayor Adams said.

The viral social media post. PIC: City of Kwinana

A further three nets were installed during the 2019/20 financial year at Orelia Oval, Sloan’s Reserve and Oakley Road to intercept more solid waste like food wrappers, drink bottles, cans and debris and organic waste being conveyed by the piped drainage system.

The nets are removed periodically, and the contents weighed and inspected then taken to a waste management site for processing.

“The first two nets have now reached 32 cleaning cycles and the extra three nets 19 cleaning cycles, totaling 3660.5kg of diverted waste,” Mayor Adams said.

“The nets are cleaned fortnightly in the wetter months and once a month spring through autumn."

Mayor Adams said the nets were removed over summer after people started damaging them to gain access to drink bottles and cans.

"When the State Government’s Containers for Change was introduced offering rebates for drink containers we noticed some nets were being damaged," she said.

"To resolve this the nets were removed to prevent vandalism during the hotter, drier months when there is less water flow.

“The drainage nets were designed and supplied by Urban Asset Solutions and installed by the City of Kwinana, so we have been keen to keep the nets in working order while facing these challenges."