Merri Creek Management Committee (MCMC), in conjunction with the Friends of Merri Creek (FoMC), Friends of Edwardes Lake, the Chain of Ponds and Friends of Moonee Ponds Creek, has delivered and supported the community for the past 5 years in removing litter from the Merri Creek catchment, in northern Melbourne. The Friends of Merri Creek has offered monthly litter clean ups for decades, and in 2023 MCMC and FoMC were able to secure funding to support even more groups and community members to collect litter in a wider area, all along the Merri Creek as well as other local waterways including the Edgars Creek, Moonee Ponds Creek and Plenty River.
Entitled the Rapid Response to Litter after Rainfall (RRLC), the program funding has enabled MCMC & FoMC to provide residents and local groups with advice, equipment and support to organise their own clean-up events. Participants in clean-ups are also encouraged to document the types and quantities of litter found at their sites. This “litter data” is collated and available to view on the LitterWatch Vic data portal.
With this “litter data” MCMC has compiled the 2023 Litter Report.
Throughout 2023, the Merri Creek Management Committee (MCMC) WaterWatch Program, supported litter clean up events conducted by residents, schools, kindergartens and local conservation groups. Corporate groups also contributed significantly. The RRLC program will continue into 2024 and beyond, thanks to continued funding from Darebin City Council, Merri-bek City Council, City of Hume, City of Yarra and Whittlesea City Council.
In 2023 849 people participated in 78 events (which is slightly higher than in 2022). In total, 75 litter surveys were logged and volunteers collected 110,392 pieces of litter. (In 2022, 94,418 pieces of litter were collected).
The three most common litter items collected at ALL sites, in order, were:
- Unidentifiable plastic fragments and remnants (macro-plastics)
- Polystyrene fragments and remnants (macro sized ie above 5mm)
- Single use food packaging / packets (chip, snack and lolly packets)
- For further information please visit www.mcmc.org.au/get-involved
Thank you to the Cities of Darebin, Hume, Merri-bek, Whittlesea, and Yarra and the Friends of Merri Creek for their funding and continued support of this program.