Litter management is the ultimate 'wicked problem' - the sources of litter are many and varied, multiple agencies have responsibilities to clean it up, and it is ultimately a behaviour change problem. And as Melbourne continues to grow in population, and more and more hard surfaces wash stormwater faster and faster off streets and into waterways, the amount of litter making it into our bays is increasing.
Agencies on their own work hard to tackle litter, but no one agency has the whole picture. Councils only know what is going on within their boundaries, not what comes from upstream or lands downstream; waterway managers don't usually deal with the industrial and commercial land where most of the litter in waterways comes from; and the Environment Protection Agency don't always have a whole-of-catchment view of where to focus engagement and compliance.
That's why Melbourne Water partnered with Alluvium consultants to develop a strategic, data-driven, catchment-scale understanding of litter, to be able to prioritise actions where they will have the best impact. One of these catchment-scale projects was the Lower Dandenong Creek Litter Collaboration that brings together the Cities of Casey, Greater Dandenong and Kingston, Parks Victoria, Melbourne Water and the Environmental Protection Authority Victoria to tackle litter at a whole-of-catchment scale.
The Lower Dandenong Creek Litter Action Plan outlines specific actions that will reduce total litter loads in the lower Dandenong Creek waterway and stormwater network, and ultimately to Port Phillip Bay.
These actions were identified through the work of Alluvium analysing a wide range of data relating to litter generation hotspots, litter accumulation hotspots, problem litter types, stormwater systems that transport litter, and existing litter management interventions across the catchment. Combined with insights from the collective experience and knowledge of the collaboration group and other key stakeholders, the partnership could identify a list of priority locations to focus on, and a range of 'best bang for buck' actions ranging from new infrastructure, improved maintenance, targeted engagement and collaborative communications.
Now in implementation phase, this approach has already seen a reduction in the amount of litter making it to the bottom of the catchment. We've renewed key infrastructure, targeted engagement at some persistent problem areas, improved street maintenance at key sites, and installed AI enabled monitoring in key locations. And we have a new on-water litter trap and brand new gross pollutant traps coming - justified through the strategic whole-of-catchment work.
This session will outline the approach taken, the lessons learned, and how this strategic and collaborative approach to litter management can work in other settings.