Solving Plastics (and other) Pollution of Waterways. Craig Rothleitner and Bob Humphries

Transcription

1 Solving Plastics (and other) Pollution of Waterways Craig Rothleitner and Bob Humphries

2 Stormwater In Australia and globally: stormwater is generally considered to be contaminated wastewater. Stormwater infrastructure is designed to prevent flooding: by removing stormwater to outfalls as quickly and efficiently as possible. Historically, stormwater systems have not been designed to improve water quality, which: causes degradation of receiving waters; and inhibits using stormwater as a resource. 2

3 Drains collect water and waste and then it all disappears out of sight out of mind all the way to outfalls Pollutants enter the drain network via a variety of sources eg Construction sites. Eventually we (the community) see this But out of sight this is what is really happening 3

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5 Drains major contributor to the Problem Waste continually enters the drains via: Wind; Rainfall; and Deliberate actions. Plastics and Organic wastes break down in drains: Waterways and shallow waters are degraded; Waste carried to rivers and oceans via outfall. 5

6 Reduce: The amount of plastics and other pollutants entering waterways by capturing them at source! UST s Catch Basin Insert Reuse: Recover: UST 5 R s easier to achieve if plastics are captured at source. UST s Plastic Collection Device Recycle: Return: easier to achieve if plastics are captured at source. easier to achieve if plastics are captured at source. 6

7 The UST Catch Basin Insert will prevent this! 7

8 HOW DO YOU USE THE CBI UST / Council identifies where the CBI locations will maximise the result UST measures each drain UST manufactures each CBI UST installs the CBI UST services the device 10 times per year UST manages the waste if the Council does not want the waste 8

9 The CBI in-situ 9

10 Advantages of UST s Catch Basin Insert Catch Basin Inserts (CBI s) are: installed into the existing drains without the need to modify the drain! CBI s reduce the ingress of the waste to drains by 95%: reliably; and cost-effectively CBI s filter stormwater: to below 150µm; at flows exceeding 30 litres per second! Technical verification of UST CBI performance is published in: Science of the Total Environment 586 (2017)

11 Advantages of UST s Catch Basin Insert CBI s capture plastics at the entry point to the system CBI s eliminate mosquito breeding habitat: By removing habitat and food source (Carbon) CBI s minimise contamination of degraded receiving water environments: aiding their recovery. CBI s allow groundwater and shallow aquifers to be recharged with clean water. CBI s transform contaminated stormwater into a valuable water resource. 11

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14 The plastics in Waterways issue Pollution control 101 Reduce litter provide more bins and litter reduction education. Trap pollutants at source deploy CBIs throughout the drainage network. First - purge drains of existing trapped material. Regularly service the CBI network to ensure ongoing excellent performance. Harvest floating plastics from waterways using the PCD. 14

15 UST s Plastic Collection Device (PCD) Removes floating contaminants, including plastics, from waterways down to particle sizes below 150µm. May also be fitted to the end of Waste Water Treatment Plants to remove fine suspended particles from the final effluent. 15

16 This presentation was prepared by Bob Humphries and Craig Rothleitner. Technical verification of UST CBI performance is published in: Alam, Md Zahanggir, Anwar, A.H.M.F, Sarker, D.C., Heitz, A., Rothleitner, C Characterising stormwater gross pollutants captured in catch basin inserts. Science of the Total Environment 586 (2017) Two further research papers are in preparation. Images and video provided by Craig Rothleitner, Urban Stormwater Technologies

17 WE WOULD ASK YOU TO QUESTION COUNCILS and GOVERNMENT, WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO BRING SOLUTIONS TO MITIGATE OBVIOUS CONDUIT FOR CONTAMINATION???