Syringes found at Kororoit Creek have prompted one Sunshine resident to call on the community to clean up its act.
Jess Gerger, who has lived near the creek for several years, said the constant flotilla of rubbish created a hazard for native birdlife.
“It’s water bottles, fast-food packaging, plastic bags, straws,” she said.
“We find a lot of polystyrene, which is really hard to get out because it breaks down into thousands of little balls.
“Unfortunately, we do find lots of syringes as well.”
Ms Gerger said a floating garbage pile, which appeared after heavy rain earlier this month, was just one of a few hotspots along the creek, downstream from a major drain.
“It’s pretty hideous, quite demoralising to see the creek like this,” she said.
“The big storms on the weekend of Sunday, July 12, washed the litter in the stormwater into the creek, and we saw this ‘high tide’ line along the banks when the waters subsided.
“I’m guessing that this area is slower moving because it’s a particularly wide part of the creek and that’s why we have ended up with the ‘flotilla’ here in the middle of the Kororoit.”
Ms Gerger is part of a community group called Beautiful Brimbank, which organises regular clean-ups at different creek locations.
“As a community group, we try to do regular maintenance, but we can’t do it on our own – especially after the heavy rain,” she said.
But she doesn’t lay blame at the feet of Brimbank council or Melbourne Water, instead pointing the finger at people who are too lazy to find a bin.
“Brimbank council has a budget to install what they call gross pollutant traps (GPTs) in the worst catchment drains each year,” she said.
“Clearly, this is not enough to keep up with the litter. While it might be easy to ask why the council doesn’t spend more money on GPTs, we all have a part to play in reducing our impact on the wildlife, and our own health, by taking an interest in picking up litter when we see it. We’re more concerned with what the community as a whole can do to help.”
Residents can contact Jess on the group’s facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/SunshineVic/ or call Jodie Williams on 0402 097 028 or via email on Jodie@total-wellbeing.com.au
