A group of Eden locals have taken it upon themselves to tackle a rising rubbish problem, spending last Sunday morning removing more than 2.5 cubic metres of junk from a stretch of the Princes Highway into Eden.
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The cleanup was coordinated by Garry Hunter, a passionate local who's called the Eden for more than 50 years.
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Mr Hunter said he became aware of the issue while looking into sedimentation in the neighbouring Lake Curalo as part of the Eden Recovery and Resilience Alliance (ERRA).
"While I was looking for sources of erosion in the catchment I realised we had a rubbish problem.
Mr Hunter said the ERRA collaborative, with representatives from Eden Community Access Centre, Eden Information Centre and Chamber of Commerce soon became interested in addressing the rubbish along the roads, as well as the lake and catchments.
"The highways are connected to our waterways," Mr Hunter said.
In 2021, the group decided to send a letter to the then NSW Transport Minister, Andrew Constance to raise their concerns.
"At the time the main issue was rubbish flowing from the highway into Bellbird Creek down into Bellbird Falls."
Mr Hunter said he received a call to say a trap would be put in place in the table drain of the highway on Bellbird Hill.
"[The trap] didn't really tackle the visual issue. But at the time our complaint was that our waterways were being contaminated with rubbish from the highway."
According to Mr Hunter, the trap was never installed.
"They made all the right noises but nothing happened."
The Rural Roads Minister was also contacted by the group in 2022, again, according to Mr Hunter, with no response.
"We just decided if the government won't do anything, we will," he said.
Following a Facebook callout, a group of 10 volunteers spent Sunday morning picking up rubbish along the Princes Highway, from Broadwater Road to Haycock Road.
"It's the first one of several we've got planned to clean up both approaches into Eden," he said.
"We didn't realise how bad it was.
"You don't know until you get in there and start looking and picking it up."
Mr Hunter said he'd hoped Sunday's clean up would be the first of many, anticipating ute-loads more rubbish to be found along both approaches.
"We're estimating we collected 2.5 thousand litres in volume which is 2.5 cubic metres. That was over a distance of 2.7 kilometres on one side of the highway or equivalent to one ute load per kilometre from one side.
"If you assume the other side is just as bad, you're looking at one ute load every 500 metres."
Mr Hunter said the cleanup was greatly assisted by the council, providing waste grants, rubbish bags and picker uppers.
He said the next cleanup would depend on whether the group could get sufficient traffic control in place.
"Keeping our volunteers safe whilst working next to traffic is number one priority and some sections of road simply can't be done without traffic control.
"We will be contacting Transport NSW requesting assistance by providing traffic controllers on those sections," he said.
Mr Hunter added that the overall issue of rubbish pollution was a concerning one, and believed education played a key role in addressing it.
"I'm just concerned that litter is being gradually accepted as a normal part of life and it's ok to toss rubbish out of the car window.
"We would like to see the government proactively working with communities to assist in clean-up programs and promotion of responsible litter disposal.
Mr Hunter said he was incredibly grateful for the help of all the the volunteers who gave up part of their long weekend.
"Without them it wouldn't happen," he said.
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