MELBOURNE’S waterways are being treated as dumping grounds, with enough rubbish to fill almost 30,000 council wheelie bins removed in the past financial year.

Environmental activists say despite efforts to clean up rivers and creeks over many decades, high levels of pollution are still entering our waterways.

Melbourne Water data shows the amount of litter and debris collected has more than doubled in the Yarra catchment to 1600 cubic metres during 2015-16.

The Werribee catchment had 980 cubic metres; Dandenong, 550 cubic metres; Westernport, 400 cubic metres; and Maribyrnong, 155 cubic metres.

The Yarra Riverkeeper Association’s Andrew Kelly said the rubbish uncovered was just a fraction of what really lay beneath.

Mr Kelly said illegal dumping was seen as an easy option to avoid paying tip fees.

“The catchments are coming under more and more pressure,” Mr Kelly said.

“It is hugely disappointing and really frustrating that people just don’t get the connection between dumping and the impact on our waterways.

media_camera Rubbish taken from Melbourne’s rivers would fill almost 30,000 wheelie bins in a year. Picture: David Caird.

“Everything depends on them. It is where most of the wildlife lives and where most of our vegetation is. It cools the city and there is a huge recreational benefit we get from it.”

Mr Kelly said there needed to be better filtration of stormwater before it entered the Yarra.

“Water quality begins on the outskirts of Melbourne,” he said.

“We really need to look at the water that runs off the increasing number of roofs and roads that we are building and the amount of rubbish and pollution that is carried into the drains and waterways.”

Common items found dumped include cans, bottles, cigarette butts, food packaging, furniture, tyres and electrical appliances such as TVs.

Dumped cars, shopping trolleys, household whitegoods, trampolines, motorbikes and a chest freezer full of rotten fish have also been retrieved.

Melbourne Water waterways and land general manager Tim Wood said litter and pollution stifled plants, created traps for animals, affected water quality and decreased oxygen levels in the water. The authority spends, on average, $3.3 million a year on litter removal from waterways.

Parks Victoria has 17 litter traps on the Yarra River and another three on the Maribyrnong River.

Environment Protection Authority Victoria metro manager Daniel Hunt said industrial waste materials dumped in rivers could pollute the environment, cause a public health risk and create amenity issues.

“As it slowly breaks down, run-off from dumped waste can contaminate air, soil, groundwater and rivers,” Mr Hunt said.

Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said it was clear that littering “needlessly” diverted resources away from other works to improve the condition of rivers and creeks.

She said the State Government’s Litter Innovation Fund supported approaches that prevented and reduced the impact of litter and illegal dumping.

To report illegal rubbish dumping to EPA Victoria, phone 1300 372 842.

media_camera The Friends of Merri Creek litter co-ordinator Paul Prentice with some of the rubbish along the creek. Picture: Josie Hayden

MOVES TO SHED UNSIGHTLY IMAGE

THERE was once so much rubbish being caught in foliage along one suburban waterway that it was known as the “Merri Creek Christmas tree”.

The Friends of Merri Creek was formed almost 30 years ago to help shed the waterway’s unsightly image by conducting litter sweeps once a month.

It was one of the first groups in Melbourne to begin removing litter from an urban creek and instrumental in stimulating litter clean-ups across Australia.

The Merri Creek, which flows through the northern suburbs of Melbourne, was the site of heavy industrial use during much of the 20th century.

Group litter co-ordinator Paul Prentice said the issue was stormwater carrying rubbish that washed up on rocks, reeds, grasses and tree branches.

“Between the litter and pollution and the shrubby weeds the place was in a poor state, so we have been working on all these fronts,” he said.

“The rubbish would just get festooned on the branches. But things have improved somewhat over the years.”

Mr Prentice said they had also worked with shopkeepers in Sydney Rd and at the Preston Market to encourage recycling.

“We love the beauty of the creek and once you remove the litter the place has a completely different air about it,” he said.

TRAIL OF DAMAGE

■ Items found dumped recently in our rivers include cans, food packaging, furniture, building materials, electrical appliances, cars, shopping trolleys, household whitegoods, trampolines and a chest freezer full of rotten fish

■ Cigarette butts are the most common item picked up during litter clean-ups followed by drink containers and paper

■ Thousands of marine birds, mammals, reptiles and fish are killed or injured each year due to entanglements in poorly discarded fishing line and other plastic waste

■ 95 per cent of the litter found on our beaches comes from suburban streets through the stormwater system

■ Melbourne Water spends on average $3.3 million every year on litter removal from waterways

■ Any person who dumps industrial waste faces a fine of more than $7500 or up to $777,300 if prosecuted

■ Reports of small scale dumping should be directed to councils to be dealt with under local laws