Bandalong Litter Trap™

Lake Como is a public water body and a key feature of Lake Como Park. The Bandalong Litter Trap™ pilot project seeks to collect floating litter, trash and debris which will help to protect the aesthetics and enjoyment of Lake Como Park. By collecting floating litter and debris at a single point, it also helps city staff with park maintenance efficiency. In addition, the installation serves as a demonstration project for the community. Even more, it provides an educational opportunity for environmental stewardship – stressing the interconnectivity of our waterways and the fact that stormwater runoff is not treated as it carries pollutants directly into our waterways.

Bandalong Litter Traps™ are a proven, sustainable, lower-cost technology to clean our watersheds. There is no doubt that trash in our waterways harms habitats, transports chemical pollutants, and threatens aquatic life. This is an important step in laying the foundation to reduce and eliminate harmful environmental impacts for Fort Worth waterways.

The Neabsco Creek Benchmark

In just over a year, the Bandalong Litter Trap™ floating on Neabsco Creek has gathered 16,476 pieces of trash that otherwise would have flowed into the Neabsco Estuary, downstream wetlands, the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay.

In 20 cleanups since January 2022, that litter trap device has collected and filled more than 65 trash bags with debris. It has also collected:

• 5,465 pieces of degraded plastic foam and beads less than 2.5 centimeters.
• 4,214 plastic foam carryout containers and pieces of containers greater than 2.5 centimeters.
• 3,553 single-use plastic bottles. 

The Bandalong Litter Trap™ has intercepted various other trash including cigarette butts and cigarette lighters, toy balls, plastic food containers, plastic shopping bags, plastic straws, clothing and shoes, fishing gear and more. In the most recent cleanup, volunteers cleaned over 1,000 pieces of plastic foam, 302 plastic bottles, toys, aluminum cans and food wrappers from the litter trap device.

_{Data excerpted from Prince William County, VA Neabsco Creek Bandalong Initiative.} 

The total cost for installation of the Bandalong Litter Trap™ was approximately $226,000. Funding was provided through the Como Area Neighborhood Improvement Project and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program with input from the neighborhood and city staff.

Bandalong Litter Trap™ maintenance will be a collaboration between the City of Fort Worth Park & Recreation and Environmental Services Departments.