River cleanup follows Qld, NSW floods

The clean-up from devastating flooding around Qld and NSW is continuing, with attention turning to the debris washed up on riverbanks and beaches.

Conservation Volunteers Australia has launched a broader national day of action to begin clearing plastics and other debris from waterways.

Volunteers are clearing debris from beaches and bays in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Perth, continuing the group's work to remove waterway debris over the last 12 months.

Polystyrene, plastic wrap and cigarette butts have featured prominently in the debris collected over the past year, with polystyrene accounting for around 14 per cent of all litter removed.

The work of the volunteers has been supported by a $5 million partnership with the federal government and in conjunction with the CSIRO.

CVA said it has already removed about 250,000 pieces of litter, most of it plastics, from eight river systems that flow into the Great Southern Reef that extends along the bottom of the continent from Brisbane to Perth.

In recent months the group has also conducted replanting and clearing activities in the flood hit Northern Rivers of NSW.