Georges Riverkeeper project honoured with prestigious Keep Australia Beautiful NSW 2023 Award
Georges Riverkeeper is thrilled to announce that the Zero Litter in Georges River project has been honoured as the winner in the Litter Prevention / Clean Waterways category at the prestigious Keep Australia Beautiful NSW (KAB NSW) 2023 Sustainable Cities Awards.
Sponsored by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), this award recognises Georges Riverkeeper’s commitment to preserving the health of the Georges River and is a testament to its catchment-wide approach.
The Zero Litter in Georges River project, funded by the Australian Government, is a project between Georges Riverkeeper, six local councils, six primary schools, and their communities, to reduce litter entering the Georges River through stormwater.
Georges Riverkeeper Program Manager, Scott Reyes, said: “The Zero Litter in Georges River project uses practical solutions to help curb litter flow into the Georges River including improving the effectiveness of gross pollutant traps which are one of the current ‘end-of-line’ solutions to help stop waste from entering waterways and creating a best practice guide for councils to use in relation to these devices, in addition to educating the community about stormwater pollution and how to prevent litter from ending up in street drains.”
The multifaceted initiative involved upgrading critical stormwater infrastructure (Gross Pollutant Traps, GPTs) at five sites in participating council areas, auditing 72 GPTs improving operations across 2,884.7 ha, and developing a best-practice guide for the stormwater industry.
Schools and community education was also a key component, empowering 564 primary school students to educate their communities about litter prevention through curriculum-aligned lessons, video messages, and anti-litter artworks.
Augmented Reality experiences near artworks enabled people to interact with 'Zero,' a long-neck turtle who is one of the native animals threatened by river pollution – and was a portal to online information and educational videos developed by Georges Riverkeeper.
Georges Riverkeeper would like to acknowledge and thank its project partners: the Australian Government, Sutherland Shire Council (Georges Riverkeeper’s host Council) and participating member Councils including Campbelltown City Council, City of Canterbury Bankstown, Fairfield City Council, Georges River Council, Liverpool City Council, as well as Georges River Environmental Education Centre, Optimal Stormwater, Art of Multimedia, Corey Nichols/Born Ready Art, Como Public School, Sarah Redfern Public School, Bossley Park Public School, Wattle Grove Public School, Connells Point Public School and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School Georges Hall. In addition, Georges Riverkeeper would like to acknowledge Bayside Council and Wollondilly Shire Council which are long-standing Member Councils of Georges Riverkeeper.
Learn more about the Zero Litter in Georges River project by visiting zerolitter.georgesriver.org.au
