Over 300 pieces of litter stopped from reaching the waterways from a loading zone.
Businesses have an important role to play in protecting waterways from plastic pollution. To demonstrate the impact that simple, at-source stormwater treatment can have, Farro Fresh trialed an EnviroPod™ LittaTrap™ at the supermarket's Mairangi Bay store in Auckland.
Installed within a stormwater catch basin servicing the store's loading zone, the six-month trial monitored the quantity and type of litter entering the stormwater network from day-to-day operations.
The project showcased how businesses can take proactive steps to prevent plastic pollution before it reaches local waterways and ultimately the ocean.
Supermarket loading areas experience constant movement of goods, packaging, and deliveries, making them a common source of litter entering nearby stormwater drains.
Without intervention, plastics, food packaging, cigarette butts, leaves, and other debris are washed into the stormwater system during rainfall events, where they are transported directly to receiving environments.
Farro Fresh wanted to better understand:
An EnviroPod™ LittaTrap™ was installed within a catch basin servicing the supermarket's loading zone.
The monitored catchment covered approximately 500m², capturing runoff from the service entrance where goods were regularly received and dispatched.
The LittaTrap™ intercepts litter, leaves, and gross pollutants before they enter the underground drainage network, allowing materials to be removed during routine maintenance rather than becoming environmental pollution.
During the six-month monitoring period, the LittaTrap™ captured:
The captured pollutants included:
The single largest pollutant category was plastic food wrapping, with 83 individual pieces captured.
Without the LittaTrap™, these pollutants would have entered the stormwater network and eventually reached local waterways and the ocean.
LittaTrap™ was selected because it provides:
For businesses committed to improving environmental performance, LittaTrap™ offers a measurable way to reduce plastic pollution leaving their sites.
The Farro Fresh trial demonstrated that even a single catch basin can prevent hundreds of pieces of litter from entering the environment in just six months.
One LittaTrap™ captured more than 300 pieces of litter and 12kg of organic debris, highlighting the significant opportunity for businesses to reduce stormwater pollution at the source.
With more than 3,000 supermarkets across New Zealand, widespread adoption of catch basin filtration could prevent well over one million pieces of litter from entering waterways every year.
The project reinforces an important message: protecting waterways starts at the storm drain.
