Sydney Water plans to invest close to $1 million to produce and install five more Gross Pollutant Traps (GPTs) in an effort to further protect the Sydney Water owned and operated 450km of stormwater channels across the state.
Gross Pollutant Traps are structures designed to catch debris before it enters sensitive environments. Plastics, rubber balls, styrofoam, shopping trolleys, chairs, footwear, rubber tyres and the occasional car bumper bar are among some of the waste typically caught.
GPTs are strategically placed to protect sensitive ecosystems and areas with high wastage loads. This includes protecting some of the city’s largest coastal freshwater wetlands and the local endangered flora and fauna.
Debris from the GPTs can be recycled, where appropriate, and organic matter can be processed to be reused as gardening products.
Sydney Water plans to roll out five more GPTs in areas across the city. Three GPTs will be installed at the Parkside Drive Wetland site in Kogarah Bay. A further two GPTs will be installed at the Milson Park Wetland site in Westmead.
In 2022, 75 traps situated across Sydney collected a record 1500m2 of waste across the city’s stormwater networks, the equivalent of almost 9,500 bathtubs of debris.
Sydney Water Network Programs Scientist, Lorne Gurney, said the Gross Pollutant Traps are hugely beneficial in keeping our waterways clean.
“The real benefit of this program is the environmental benefit. We see this as a tangible way to help ensure our wildlife in our wetlands continues to flourish. We all love healthy waterways,” Mr Gurney said.
Feature image provided by Sydney Water.
