Let’s get litterate
Canada Bay
The City of Canada Bay is in the inner west of Sydney and covers an area of 19.9km².
It is located within the Parramatta River catchment and has 36km of river foreshore.
City of Canada Bay has multiple estuaries and swim spots, including Rodd Park, Iron Cove, Five Dock Bay, Hen and Chicken Bay, Majors Bay, Yaralla Bay, and Brays Bay. The Exile Bay catchment area has Saltwater Creek and is a floodplain. Powells Creek marks the border between Canada Bay, Strathfield, and Parramatta/Sydney Olympic Park.
Part of the Parramatta River catchment.
Canada Bay
Community
The City of Canada Bay Council population forecast for 2026 is 93,693 and is forecast to grow to 120,620 by 2046 (profile.id.com.au/canada-bay).
The population density in 2021 was 4,629 persons/km². In 2021, 40.1% of people in City of Canada Bay were born overseas.
The communities’ priorities outlined in Our Future 2036 includes litter under the theme of a Sustainable and Thriving Environment.
There are several volunteer community groups that conduct litter clean ups or litter prevention activities. These are usually around foreshores, waterways or parks next to waterways.
Canada Bay
Litter policy
In 2025, Canada Bay launched the City of Canada Bay Litter Management and Prevention Plan 2025–2030, a five-year roadmap to reduce litter at the source — not just clean it up after the fact.
City of Canada Bay is focusing on:
- Reducing cigarette butts, food packaging, and takeaway litter.
- Installing smart bin sensors and surveillance cameras in hotspots.
- Educating residents and businesses on how they can help.
- Monitoring litter using new tools and data, and
- Working with partners across the region to protect our waterways.
These actions are supported by over $400,000 in grant funding from the NSW EPA to deliver real, measurable results.
In 2018 Council developed the Love Your Place program that supports local community members to partner with Council at public parks. It integrates litter clean-up and prevention activities. This program increases community pride in local places and connects communities to waterways. In 2021 there were 11 active groups mainly doing foreshore clean-ups and some residential street clean-ups.
Projects
Council has completed multiple projects.
The availability of EPA Litter Grants has been a driver for litter prevention actions.
These include NSW EPA Litter Grant funded projects:
- Litter Management and Prevention Plan
- Back of Business – Putting litter in its place (working with local businesses)
- Litter in the Bay at Cabarita Park
- Hey Tosser – Bin your Butts
- Two Hot Coal projects at Cabarita Park.
Council also delivered
- BagLess in the Bay – a plastic bag reduction program
- litter promotion on Council trucks
- Clean up Australia Day activities
- Business Use of Public Footpath Policy to reduce blowaway litter
- a public place bin audit of 125 bins from a range of public places including parks, streets and bus stops
- local litter checks at 26 locations
- installed solar bins and removed open topped bins
- implemented a Sustainable Events Policy
- school education about litter on school grounds.
Council partners with Transport for NSW on projects as well as the Parramatta River Catchment Group.
Council URL’s which may be relevant
Love Your Place | Collaborate Canada Bay
Hotspots
- town centres and retail commercial areas especially for butts
- parks and public places as identified in the 2015 litter hotspot audit
- Local Litter Checks are completed as part of Love Your Places