The River Canoe Club recently held its fourth annual Cooks River Clean Up and Paddle Against Plastic.

Our waterways are one of our most precious environmental assets, and I acknowledge all of the extraordinary and dedicated volunteers and organisations working to improve the health of the Cooks River, which is essential to the Inner West suburbs that it runs through.

The Paddle Against Plastic is a terrific example of this community effort, coordinated by the River Canoe Club, Cooks River Alliance, Inner West Council, City of Canterbury Bankstown council and Conservation Volunteers Australia. A massive 400 kilograms of litter, including shopping trolleys, was pulled from the river, adding to the 20 tonnes that had already been removed through clean-up efforts over the past four years.

The Paddle Against Plastic complements the important Cooks River Litter Prevention Strategy spearheaded by the club, and aims to halve the amount of litter entering the river by 2050. I am grateful to the president of the River Canoe Club, Simon Wilkes, and to all of the dedicated volunteers and paddlers who gave up their Sunday for this important effort.