Of the 1,342 pieces of litter caught, 816 pieces were plastic
Retail centres and supermarket distribution facilities are among the busiest urban environments, generating significant volumes of packaging waste, customer litter, and loading bay debris. Without effective source control, these pollutants are washed into stormwater drains during rainfall, eventually reaching rivers, harbours, and the ocean.
To better understand the scale of this issue, Stormwater360 (New Zealand Distributor of EnviroPod™ LittaTrap™) conducted a LittaTrap™ trial at two Countdown sites in Auckland, New Zealand:
The objective was to quantify the amount and type of litter entering the stormwater network and demonstrate how catch basin inserts can intercept pollution before it reaches the receiving environment.
Supermarkets and distribution centres experience constant vehicle movements, customer activity, and freight operations.
These environments generate a range of pollutants including:
Many of these pollutants are lightweight and easily transported by wind before being washed into nearby stormwater drains during rainfall events.
Without treatment, this material flows directly into local waterways.
Two LittaTrap™ units were installed within the supermarket site.
The first catch basin was located near the main customer entrance and car park, where high pedestrian activity generated significant litter loading.
The second catch basin was positioned downstream of two busy loading bays where deliveries and freight operations occurred throughout the day.
Two LittaTrap™ units were installed beside the warehouse loading and staging area, capturing runoff from one of the site's busiest freight handling zones.
Although careful operational practices are followed, occasional packaging losses during loading and unloading can still occur, making source control an important final line of defence.
During 134 days of monitoring, the four LittaTrap™ units captured:
Soft plastics were the most common pollutant across both sites.
Other pollutants included:
At the Takapuna supermarket:
At the Favona distribution centre:
LittaTrap™ was selected because it provides effective at-source pollutant capture while requiring no major civil works.
Key benefits included:
The trial demonstrated that both customer-facing supermarkets and industrial distribution centres generate significant plastic pollution.
The results also showed that much of this material can be intercepted before entering the stormwater system using simple source-control infrastructure.
Soft plastics were identified as the dominant pollutant. These materials are particularly problematic because they fragment easily into microplastics and pose serious risks to aquatic ecosystems through ingestion and entanglement.
Over just four months, LittaTrap™ prevented 1,342 pieces of litter, including 816 plastic items, from entering Auckland's waterways.
The study confirmed that supermarkets and logistics facilities are important stormwater pollution hotspots and highlighted the value of capturing litter at the catch basin before it can travel through the stormwater network.
For retailers, distribution centres, and industrial facilities looking to strengthen environmental performance, LittaTrap™ provides a practical, low-maintenance solution that delivers measurable reductions in plastic pollution while supporting cleaner waterways and more sustainable operations.
