Environmental Services

Rubbish

NSW Maritime has a number of statutory responsibilities with respect to improving safety and protecting the environment on the State’s navigable waterways, including the removal of rubbish from Sydney Harbour.

The Environmental Services team cleans the waters and foreshores of Sydney Harbour and navigable waters of the Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers. This area consists of 5020 hectares and a combined foreshore length of 270km.

The service provided by NSW Maritime through its Environmental Services team is currently the only effective means of removing floating litter and waste from Sydney Harbour including storm water pollution, other visible debris and floating hazards to navigation.

On average more than 3,500 cubic meters of rubbish is collected per year, ranging from large objects such as trees and tyres to the debris washed into the harbour from harbour side suburbs and small items left behind on beaches and other foreshore locations by members of the public.

Water pollution / Sewage

The Environmental Services team manages the free sewage pumpout stations at Blackwattle Bay and King Street wharf. The team also monitors the use of other free public fixed pumpout facilities available in Sydney Harbour to recreational and commercial vessels operators. Usage data from all monitored pumpouts in the Harbour and the mobile pumpout in Myall Lakes is electronically collected by Environmental Services and published monthly.

The location of pumpout facilities across NSW can be found at the following link.

Beneficiaries of a clean harbour

A clean Sydney Harbour is of benefit to the tourist industry, harbour-side local government, the recreational boating public, operators of commercial vessels, waterfront property holders and the public who use the beaches and foreshores of Sydney Harbour.

Historical background

In the early 1900s the Environmental Services team’s predecessors were known as the “rat catchers” of Sydney, formed to combat the spread of the Bubonic Plague. The trapping of infected rats was a vital service to the health of Sydneysiders.

In the 1930s, the “rat catchers” became the Harbour Cleaning Service. In timber boats a crew of hardy souls who didn’t mind the salt, spray or the smell, would collect debris and floating rubbish. The retrieval of dead animals and other unsavoury objects from Sydney Harbour was a common task.

In the 1950’s the wooden boats gained the luxury of engines but it was the greater environmental awareness stemming from the “Clean Up Australia” campaign that instigated the purchase of the present harbour cleaning equipment in June 1989.

In 1990, the NSW Maritime Authority took on the responsibility for cleaning Sydney Harbour as a major environmental initiative.

The role of the Harbour Cleaning Branch changed to Environmental Services in 2002. It has grown in conjunction with the NSW Maritime's enhanced responsibilities as an Appropriate Regulatory Authority under the State's environment protection laws. It demonstrates an increased environmental engagement and provides a stronger focus on environmental performance within commercial and recreational vessel fleets on Sydney Harbour. An additional duty, for example, involves monitoring compliance by contracting and building companies regarding deployment of anti-pollution booms and skirts around foreshore construction sites.

Today’s Environmental Services Branch has a team of 15, who work the vessels on a seven day per week schedule.

The team and its equipment is also used to provide operational support to the major events on and around Sydney Harbour. These events include the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race Start on Boxing Day, New Years Eve and Australia Day, for which marker buoys are laid to indicate safety exclusion zones on the harbour.

For several years, Environmental Services has also been conducting a Joint Foreshore Cleaning Project. Local Council areas nominate foreshore areas to be cleaned in a land based operation, labour is provided through the Department of Corrective Services Community Service Order and Periodic Detainee Rehabilitation Program, Clean Up Australia’s bus is loaned to the project with all planning, transport and supervision provided by the Harbour Cleaning Service. Councils bear the cost of transport and disposal of rubbish collected.

Environmental Services vessels and equipment

The equipment represents the NSW Government’s initiative to action for removal of floating litter and waste from the entire Sydney Harbour area with tributaries including public beaches & foreshores.

Gadarra

“Gadarra” is a twin hull vessel with overall length of 15 meters , full displacement of 62 tonne and a compliment of three. The vessel can intercept and mechanically collect rubbish floating in the Harbour before it reaches the foreshore. Rubbish is collected and directed by a rotor located at the bow into 2 x 7 cubic meter wire containers suspended between the hulls. Its main area of operation is from Manly to Ryde along the main channels and bays and inlets where water depth exceeds two meters. The rubbish collecting capacity of the “Gadarra” is virtually unlimited ranging from single floating items to large expanses of debris and can collect large items such as logs, cable reels and truck tyres which would present hazards to navigation. By adding two sections of anti-pollution boom to the bows, the debris capture capacity of the vessel was increased by 90%. This low cost innovation allows for floating debris and rubbish from a very large surface area to be directed to the cutting rotors at the ‘mouth’ of “Gadarra’s” cargo bay.

"Fast response" Environmental Services launches

Fast Response Environmental Services Launch- “ES1”
This vessel is 7.8 meters long (built 1989) and has a single 150hp outboard engine, and carries a 3 cubic meter rubbish bin. This vessel provides rapid response to rubbish problems throughout the Harbour and can reach beaches and shallow waters inaccessible to the “Gadarra”.

Fast Response Vessels – “ ES5” & “ ES6”
“ES5” and “ES6” commenced service in late 1998. These purpose built vessels combine (for their size) the best features of the “Gadarra”, and the small fast response vessels. These vessels are 10.5 meters in length and powered by twin 150hp outboard engines. The power operated ramp will allow direct access to beaches and enable transport of beach cleaning equipment to and from appropriate locations. The on-board crane and addition of surface skimming equipment will allow these vessels to provide fast response for almost any cleaning requirement, and are listed as support vessels in the Oil Spill Response Plan for Sydney Harbour.

“ES7”  joined the fleet in 2007.  This vessel combines the best features of “ES5” & “ ES6” and also incorporates the best feature of “Gadarra”. A water-jet supported litter capture “basket” onboard the “ES7” enables rubbish to be intercepted, directed and manually collected while floating in the Harbour and thus preventing it from reaching foreshores & beaches.

GROVE Crane, acquired in 2008 to replace a similar crane in terms of size & capacity. This equipment is used to unload waste collected daily from Harbour waters and public foreshores for further disposal via approved waste transfer disposal facility. The Grove crane is also used in conjunction with vessel maintenance activities for the entire NSW Maritime Rozelle based fleet.

A Forklift, and other motorized equipment, e.g., Chainsaws, Starwagon Van, Hiab cranes and winches on ES5, ES5, ES7, used daily, and all serve to improve work practices, occupational health and safety, and productivity.

Beach cleaning equipment - power barrows

2 x Power Barrows (Muck trucks), which are essentially powered wheel-barrows, that serve to reduce the manual labour content of the foreshore & beach cleaning work, and significantly, use of this equipment has allowed ES to cease using plastic bags for collection and movement of waste materials before transportation to waste disposal facility.