After being postponed twice due to wet weather, this year's Cooks River canoe clean-up was smaller than usual but 80 volunteer paddlers still removed 400 kilograms of litter - including Bunnings trolleys and airport luggage trolleys - from the river on Sunday.
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"Community perceptions around the river are changing. The continued clean-up efforts are making a real difference - that's the feedback we're hearing," said Simon Wilkes, president of the River Canoe Club which organises the event in partnership with the Cooks River Alliance, Inner West Council, Canterbury Bankstown Council and Conservation Volunteers Australia.
The annual clean-up is in its fourth year and is part of the River Canoe Club's broader efforts to take on a "stewardship role" over the Cooks River - historically considered one of Sydney's most polluted waterways. Last year, 150 people took to the water in canoes and kayaks, removing 687 kilograms of small plastics.
Mr Wilkes said regular paddlers were reporting that "noticeable progress is being made" in the amount of litter making its way into the waterway. "With over 20 tonnes removed through clean-up efforts the last four years, most of the larger and heavy items have now been removed from the river," said Mr Wilkes.
"This has included engine blocks, tyres, furniture, motorbikes. That said, we're continuing to find lots of plastic, cans, bottles."
Last October, the Inner West Council unanimously endorsed a Litter Prevention Strategy prepared by the River Canoe Club in collaboration with the Cooks River Alliance that aims to reduce litter by 50 per cent by 2025.
According to the Litter Prevention Strategy, the most common types of litter in the Cooks River are wrappers, plastic bags, straws, bottle caps, tamper evident bands and micro plastics. Through lockdown there was a "noticeable increase" in disposable face-masks and take-away food and beverage containers making their way into the river.
"The clean-up efforts are only one part of the equation. There needs to be more done to reduce litter at source," said Mr Wilkes.
"It's going to require a collective effort of the councils, Sydney Water, businesses, sporting groups, schools. We can all do our bit."
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