Water pollution is undoubtedly one of the most devastating aftermaths of our improper waste disposal practices. While rubbish is not entirely to blame for our polluted waterways in Sydney, rubbish is one of the major reasons why our rivers in the city are contaminated.
How Does Improper Disposal of Waste Cause Water Pollution in Sydney?
There are many ways that people in Sydney improperly throw their rubbish, such as by littering, dumping, not segregating and burning. When you practice any of these misdeeds, you’re contributing to the amount of rubbish that ends up in our oceans.
It’s highly likely that the rubbish you discard will find their way into our waterways. They can get blown by the wind or get dragged by other agents so that they end up in creeks, rivers, and ultimately, in our ocean waters.
What is Water Pollution?
Water pollution is the change in the quality of our water bodies, often caused by rubbish. Since water is a universal solvent, it can dissolve various substances such as polluting chemicals and gases. Moreover, it can also mobilise and breakdown harmful rubbish items like plastics and styrofoam materials. As a result, we end up with dirty and contaminated rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Water Pollution in Sydney
Sydney is the most populated city in Australia. At present, the metropolis has a population of approximately 5 million people. Given this, it’s not surprising that Sydney is also faced with the problem of pollution and improper waste disposal. In fact, Sydney is one of the largest waste contributors in Australia, producing over 5,500 tonnes of rubbish each day.
On top of that, Sydney also collects around 4,000 tonnes of improperly dumped wastes every year. Now, imagine that amount ending up in our bodies of water. Not to mention the amount of litter in the city that is not accounted for.
What Rivers in Sydney are Polluted?
As one of the largest cities in Australia, composed of around 658 suburbs, Sydney is home to a number of magnificent rivers, including the Hawkesbury river, Parramatta, Nepean, Georges, Woronora, and Cooks river, to name a few. At the same time, Sydney also has polluted river waters.
Take the Parramatta river as an example. This heavily polluted river has an unacceptable water quality such that the fish caught from this area are not viable anymore for consumption. Likewise, water in Silverwater, Lane Cove, Tunks Park, and Homebush Bay is also below the standard quality. Furthermore, the Homebush Bay, Blackwattle Bay, Long Bay, Hen and Chicken Bay, Iron Cove, and Rozelle Bay were also discovered to have highly polluted deposits which include microplastics, microbeads, clothing fibres, and other harmful sediments.
What Can You Do To Save Our Sydney Rivers?
The saying “prevention is better than cure” also holds true about environment-related issues. Indeed, it is better and much cost-effective to prevent pollution from affecting our rivers and oceans than to spend millions of dollars to rehabilitate and treat our waters. Saying it is easy, but how can we really save our Sydney rivers and oceans?
Stop Littering
Every year, the NSW government spends roughly $300 to $350 million annually to manage and prevent littering. Nonetheless, littering is still a major problem in Sydney, and is one of the major reasons why our water bodies are contaminated. The majority (95%) of the rubbish items found on beaches comes from suburban streets.
Hence, if you want to save the environment, start by throwing your rubbish in designated containers, and practice waste segregation as you do so. You can also educate or report litterers so that they stop from throwing their rubbish improperly. Additionally, picking up litter and participating in coastal and river cleanups can go a long way in saving the environmentThrough these simple ways, you can help minimise the amount of rubbish that can end up in our waterways and pollute our waters.
Contact Sydney’s Most Reliable Rubbish Removal Company for Your Rubbish Removal Needs
Besides helping solve the littering problem, you can also help prevent pollution and other environmental problems if you rely on sustainable and environment-friendly companies to deal with your rubbish.
As Sydney’s most trusted rubbish removal company, Paul's Rubbish Removal are dedicated to providing clients with efficient and high-quality rubbish removal services. Aside from that, our expert team guarantees proper treatment and disposal of your rubbish. We will collect, segregate, recycle, and dispose of your rubbish in the most environment-friendly manner.