Two rounds of monitoring, which KABC participated in, have been conducted to determine the extent of litter and the potential threat to waterways and wetlands from sediment and litter originating on construction sites. Monitoring used a modified version of the Australian Litter Measure methodology that itemised construction specific litter rather than capturing it as a single item type as it would be in regular litter monitoring.
151 residential building sites managed by 73 building companies have been surveyed in the South-East Corridor of the Canning River Catchment, as part of the broader Sediment and Litter Control and Prevention (SALCAP) project.
Nimesha Thathsarani, SERCUL’s Sediment Coordinator, conducting a CSLM survey at a residential building site.
The results highlight the risk that poorly managed litter and waste from building sites can pose to the environment and the results confirm building site pollution is a significant threat to waterways.
Key findings include:
- Every site surveyed was littered.
- 17,678 litter items were recorded (1612 litter items per 1000m²).
- Bricks (partial) were the most common item (3392 recorded; 19% of all items).
- 29% of sites were classified as a ‘Loose items/Litter Source Risk’.
- 51% of sites did not have a waste bin.
- Of the sites with bins, 32% had overflowing bins or loose waste.
- Significant quantities of concrete waste and slurry were observed at 36% of sites, suggesting liquid wastes were not being adequately managed.
- Illegal dumping was recorded at 19% of sites.
Building sites recorded 1,612 litter items per 1,000m², around 15 times the Perth metropolitan average of 110 items per 1,000m² as measured in regular KABC monitoring. As a considerable amount of this litter is loose, construction sites represent a significant source of litter. The next phase of the project will focus on a behaviour change program to encourage improved waste management practices among builders and subcontractors.
To find out more about the CSLM survey methodology, litter composition, key findings and recommendations and how to report pollution during land development, click here.
This project is part of the Cleaning up the Canning initiative funded by the Australian Government’s Urban Rivers and Catchments Program, with the support of South East Regional Centre for Urban Landcare, Armadale Gosnells Landcare Group, the City of Armadale, City of Canning, City of Gosnells, Town of Victoria Park, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. Additional funding for development of the CSLM survey was provided through the Clean Sites - Clean Waterways Community Litter Grant funded by Keep Australia Beautiful Council WA (KABC).
