The measurement and reduction of urban litter entering stormwater drainage systems: Paper 2 - Strategies for reducing the litter in the stormwater drainage systems

Abstract

A previous South African study looked at the removal of litter from the drainage systems once it was already there. Yet the litter problem cannot be addressed in an effective and sustainable manner without an effective integrated catchment-wide litter management strategy. This strategy should include planning controls, source controls, and structural controls. The main focus of this paper is the source control of urban litter. It reviews international and local practice, and reports on the results of a two-year monitoring programme conducted in nine pilot catchments covering a range of different land uses, socio-economic levels and population densities in the City of Cape Town. It proposes preliminary guidelines for the reduction of urban litter loads entering the drainage system by dealing with litter pollution at its source.