Citizens of Mobile, AL have become increasingly frustrated with the quality of their watershed in the past few years. Citizens have spearheaded a movement to raise funding for the installation of a Bandalong Litter Trap to reduce the amount of trash in their local waterways.

Visit this blog, Kayaking the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, to see photos from a resident kayaker as he documents the declining quality of the watershed.

Volunteers and "Green Team" members proudly pose for a picture on the Bandalong Litter Trap after removing several bags of trash from the unit.

In February of 2011, the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) awarded Groundwork Anacostia River DC (GWARDC) the maintenance contract of the Bandalong Litter Trap that was installed on the Watts Branch Tributary in early 2009. Since then, the Bandalong Litter Trap has proven to be not only an effective piece of technology for removing litter and debris from our natural waterways, but also an incredibly educational and useful device for GWARDC. GWARDC is part of a Groundwork USA, a non-profit organization compiled of 25 trusts nationwide established in places that have experienced decades of decline in their physical and social environments. These trusts utilize their most valuable resources, the people, in order to promote the environmental, economic, and social well being of their communities.

Launched in Ward 7 in 2009, GWARDC focuses on the communities that border the Anacostia River and the Anacostia watershed. Executive Director, Dennis Chestnut, grew up on the Anacostia River and has a special connection to the area for several reasons. Having learned to swim in the Anacostia as a child, Chestnut had dreams of sharing these experiences with his children.

As time went on, Chestnut witnessed the decline of the once healthy river. As areas became more urbanized and the river became one of the most polluted rivers in the nation, Chestnut realized how vital the restoration of his beloved river was. Now a father of six grown children and grandfather of 13, he still wants his family to enjoy the river the way he did and has made it his life’s goal to restore the health of the Anacostia. When GWARDC, in collaboration with the Anacostia Riverkeeper, received grant funding from the DDOE for the maintenance of the Bandalong, Chestnut and other Groundwork staff saw the potential for the Bandalong to serve as much more than just an efficient means of capturing floatables.

"Green Team" members clean the Bandalong on July 14th during a service learning trip

The Bandalong became a pivotal part of their “Green Team” program. Composed of 10-12 young adults, “Green Team” members receive job training and instruction in conservation, restoration, community outreach and engagement, as well as other important skills. “Green Team” members meet with local schools and community groups to give a presentation called  “Talking Trash” to inform their peers and family members about the detrimental effects of littering. Once they have given the presentation, “Green Team” members implement a variety of service learning projects with the students.

The Bandalong Litter Trap became a perfect tool for one of the Green Team’s service learning projects. Executive Director, Dennis Chestnut spoke about the Bandalong’s unique ability to educate the community.

“Having the Bandalong has really helped our Green Team program to be more effective because instead of simply giving a presentation to a class room full of students, our Green Team members are then able to take these kids out and get them physically involved with the Bandalong,” Chestnut said. “Seeing all the litter in one central location is really powerful and helps to drive the message home to so many folks.”

“Hopefully with the emergence of green jobs and an increased focus on sustainability, other jurisdictions will realize how the Bandalong showcases how these things can really work.”

Chestnut further explained that it isn’t just grade school children that are getting involved, but people of all ages.

Volunteers from Limestone College clean out the Bandalong Litter Trap

“We have really become aware of how this type of technology can be used in our goal of sustainability,” Chestnut said. “All kinds of people from church groups, grade school children, college students, families want to get involved with this service group opportunity.”

“Hopefully going forward, other jurisdictions will follow DC’s lead and see the incredible benefit in investing in this technology and supporting the resources that can work right along with it. By combining the effective equipment, the Bandalong, with a community’s most valuable resources, the people, we are able to make the Bandalong the most efficient system operating.”

Since February, the number of volunteers engaged with the Bandalong has continued to grow. Because the DDOE realized the Bandalong’s education and outreach ability, the DDOE provided GWARDC with additional waders. With these additional waders, GWARDC is able to bring much larger groups of people to the site each time they visit. After volunteers are given an educational tutorial explaining how the Bandalong works and a thorough safety briefing, they are able to get involved with the hands-on learning.

“It isn’t uncommon to have groups of 25-30 people visit the litter trap on a service learning outing,” Chestnut said.

With the additional waders, GWARDC is able to get more individuals in the water to work with the Bandalong Litter Trap. “It’s a really great project to be involved with because with the Bandalong, the education and outreach really works,” Chestnut said.

Volunteers conduct water monitoring at the Bandalong site with students during a service learning trip

Aside from the service learning trips, GWARDC sends two people every week to maintain the device. From start to finish, the two individuals are able to remove, separate, and weigh all the litter in less than two and a half hours. They then log the amount of trash and categorize it by type, removing larger items like tires, construction materials, appliances, etc. so they can report back to the DDOE. At minimum, the trap is cleaned out once a week and after every rain event.

Furthermore, GWARDC has implemented different types of monitoring. Aside from the type of litter collected, they also report on the weather conditions and the types of wildlife present at each visit. Additionally, GWARDC conducts water sampling several times a month near the Bandalong to see if the water quality is improving.

Two new Bandalong Litter Traps are being installed in Washington DC in the future. One of Bandalong was funded by the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Act, or the “Bag Law,” which requires all District businesses selling food or alcohol to charge $.05 for each disposable paper or plastic bag. The law came as a response to a trash study of the Anacostia River, which found that disposable plastic bags were one of the largest sources of litter in the Anacostia. The District Bag Law aims at reducing pollution in District waterways, while raising money to clean and protect them.

With two additional Bandalong Litter Traps being installed in DC, Groundwork is excited about expanding their educational and outreach efforts, as well as providing job training for local youth.

L to R: Storm Water Systems Vice President Mark Kirves, GWARDC Executive Director Dennis Chestnut, DDOE's Matt Robinson and Bandalong Project Manager Jason Davis visiting the Watts Branch Bandalong in August 2011

“The Bandalong has a positive long-term and sustainable effect on the community,” Chestnut said. “We are partnered with a job corps center training program and have been able to train three young men from ages 19-21 to do everything from lubricating the device to data collection. These individuals have a key role in the maintenance of the device and will continue to be involved with the two additional Bandalongs once they are installed.”

In 2009, the Bandalong Litter Trap’s first year in operation, the device collected over three tons (more than 6,000 pounds) of floating litter and debris. Reports by GWARDC shows that from the time they took over maintenance in mid-March to late July, the device had removed over 3,000 pounds of floating litter and debris from the Watts Branch tributary. In the first five months, GWARDC collected, on average, 692.2 pounds of floating litter and debris each month.

The social, economic, and environmental benefits of installing the Bandalong Litter Trap are evident and GWARDC looks forward to maximizing the device’s potential.

“The Bandalong has really helped us reach and educate more people so we are anxious to get these additional units installed,” Chestnut said. “This technology is the most efficient system because not only does it clean our river very well, but it has allowed us to get the message out to so many folks.”

For more information on Groundwork Anacostia River DC, please visit http://www.groundworkdc.org/

In April, the District Department of the Environment announced they would be awarding a grant to the Anacostia Riverkeeper and Groundwork Anacostia, DC for the purchase and installation of two more Bandalong Litter Traps. The first Bandalong was installed on Watts Branch Creek, a tributary of the Anacostia River, in early 2009 and collected more than three tons of trash in the first year. Now, two years later, the first city in the nation to install a Bandalong Litter Trap has come back and purchased two more units.

The funding for the Bandalong comes from money collected by the District’s Bag Bill, which puts a five cent fee on plastic bags to encourage people to use cloth bags. Groundwork Anacostia, a local non-profit organization, will be responsible for the maintenance of the litter trap. The group will involve inner city youth as they monitor and log the type and amount of litter collected. Groundwork Anacostia is one of many local trusts within the larger national non-profit, Groundwork. Each local trust is dedicated to renewing and restoring distressed neighborhoods through environmental projects and programs that bring local residents, government, youth and businesses together. This further highlights the Bandalong Litter Trap’s value as a tool for non-profit organizations.

Additionally, as part of the Anacostia Riverkeeper’s trash-free agenda, the Bandalong Litter Trap has proven to be a successful tool. Anacostia Riverkeeper, Dottie Yunger says, “The first Bandalong Litter Trap has proven to be an incredible success and sound investment for the District. Because of the first Bandalong’s success, we are thrilled to further our trash reduction efforts in the Anacostia with the installation of two more units.”

An island of trash on Dog River (Ben Raines, Press-Register)

After years of witnessing the quality of the water in their watershed decline, Dog River Clearwater Revival (DRCR), a non-profit organization of local citizens, has taken matters into their own hands. No longer willing to wait on the City of Mobile to be accountable, the advocacy group has launched a campaign to raise money for the purchase of a Bandalong Litter Trap, which will make cleaning the river much easier for volunteers.

To date, DRCR has received donations from the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, City of Mobile – Keep Mobile Beautiful, Sybil H. Smith Charitable Trust, JL Bedsole Trust, the Alabama Power Foundation and funds donated directly from members of their own group. The Bandalong Litter Trap, to be installed on Montlimar Creek, will be maintained by the DRCR Keep It Clean Committee who has worked with litter barriers for several years and knows that effectively trapping litter and debris in the shallows upstream makes it easier for volunteers to collect and remove.

According to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), litter has become a major source of pollution to Dog River, which drains more than 90 square miles of land in Mobile County. The main source of litter pollution in Dog River is generated by commercial sites and much to the dismay of DRCR, businesses have not been held accountable. Although DRCR’s main mission is to make their Dog River clean and safe for generations to come, their environmental commitment is greater. Dog River discharges into Mobile Bay, which ultimately empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

Trash in Dog River on a Kayaking Trip

“Since litter and debris in Dog River is ultimately emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, stopping the trash before it reaches the Mobile Bay is key,” Claire Wilson, DRCR Keep It Clean Committee Chair says. “Litter in our oceans has detrimental effects on marine life. After all of the trauma the Gulf of Mexico has experienced in the last few years, we should be making every effort possible to prevent any further damage.”

Recently, a Mobile, AL local filmed his kayaking trip and documented the mass amounts of trash floating in Dog River. The video, “Dog River Scenic Blueway Woes,” showed what the river looked like following an afternoon thunderstorm that dumped about 2.5 inches of rain in about an hour. The video got the community in an uproar.

Watch “Dog River Scenic Blueway Woes” Here

For more information, visit www.dogriver.org/trap-the-trash.html

The predevelopment area was on 36 acres of farmland and home to two tributaries of Rocky Fork Creek, which feeds directly into the Mississippi River. In order to preserve the abundance of wildlife, something had to be done to treat all potential water contaminants. The retailer called on Cochran Engineering in St. Louis, MO to develop an ideal stormwater plan for the new supercenter.

Part of the StormX™ unit, two stainless steel hubs (36" and 48") sit before being installed into existing outfalls.

The most abundant pollutant typical at retail supercenter locations is trash. Because of this, a proven system was required to handle the large amounts of trash accumulated by the store’s urban runoff. StormX allows water to flow unimpeded while capturing gross pollutants as small as 5mm, making it the perfect solution. The installation included three units: an 18 inch unit to filter runoff from the roof, as well as one 36 inch unit and one 48 inch unit to filter runoff from parking lots and unloading areas.

“StormX was chosen because it was the most economical way to keep trash and debris out of the fragile surrounding ecosystem,” said Matt Austin with Aspen Environmental.  “Maintenance was another consideration when choosing StormX; the strong netting means the unit can withstand a greater mass of trash and debris compared to similar products.”

Installation of three StormX™ units (18", 36" and 48") was completed in under an hour.

The Illinois EPA requires the trash be removed weekly. For other products, emptying trash-filled nets can be a difficult task, but that isn’t the case with StormX. “It turns out emptying the nets are fast and easy,” says Austin. “Overall, StormX is easy to install (even in a flared end section), durable, and very low profile.”

The plan to handle pollutants generated from the store’s new location involved three main stormwater lines with one being treated by an up-flow filter device. The others are treated as a two-step process, employing StormX to remove gross pollutants before the water enters a bioretention pond where the remaining finer contaminants are filtered.

“It’s so rare to see these days,” said Austin, “But this treatment project is a perfect combination of proprietary and natural products working together to achieve a high standard of water quality.”

About StormX

The StormX system is comprised of stainless steel (galvanized is available) hubs, reusable commercial grade nets, and built-in overflows to allow runoff to flow unimpeded during a significant rain event. The system is currently offered in three configurations: full-pipe, half-pipe and weir. This end of pipe netting system stops gross pollutants as small as 5mm before reaching any natural waterways. The reusable, commercial grade nets are highly effective for “first flush.” Standard sizes are 18”, 24”, 30”, 36”, 48”, 60” and 72” with custom sizes also available.

Gary Hopkins accepts award from mayor of Gainesville honoring him at the "Entrepreneurs: Masters of Innovation" event in October 2010

Storm Water Systems founders Gary Hopkins and Mark Kirves were honored at “Entrepreneurs: Masters of Innovation” in October. The event, hosted by the Featherbone Communiversity, honored the two for their ingenuity, passionate environmental efforts, and ability to prosper in challenging times.

Gary Hopkins, Mark Kirves and eight other honorees collectively served on a panel to answer questions for individuals that have an interest in following in their entrepreneurial footsteps. As co-owners of Plastek Werks,Inc., Storm Water Systems’s parent company, Hopkins and Kirves have worked side by side for over 30 years to preserve and protect the natural environment in the thermoplastic fabrication and welding industry. The event recognized both companies as leaders within their respective industries.