Site

Mairangi Bay, Auckland

Description

LITTER HOT SPOT – LOADING ZONE

Last year Stormwater360 approached Farro Fresh to install a trial LittaTrap™ in a loading zone stormdrain to monitor how much plastic and litter could be stopped from entering the stormwater system.
The LittaTrap™ was installed at the Mairangi Bay store and was maintained and monitored over six months.

CATCHMENT

The LittaTrap™ was placed outside the service entrance to the supermarket
where goods are received and dispatched. The catchment area was approx. 500 sq metres.

RESULTS

The final results yielded a total of 312 pieces of rubbish captured.
The litter counted was typical of the environment in which the LittaTrap™ was installed, including soft and hard plastics, glass, cigarettes, metals and woods.

The largest type of pollutant counted was plastic food wrapping ( 83 pieces), followed
by soft and hard plastic, and polystyrene. Without the LittaTrap™ installed, these
pieces of litter would flow straight into the stormwater system and out to sea.

The LittaTrap™ also captured over 12kgs of organic matter, mainly consisting of
leaves and food waste. Organic matter that makes it into our waterways
leaches nitrogen and phosphorus – both harmful nutrients to our waterways.

Maintenance

The LittaTrap™ was maintained and monitored on average every six weeks for a six month period.