When I worked for Avaya labs in the early 2000s, it was also well known internally that the split made more money. Hence the subsequent voluntary splits
Along with: you will never be thanked for getting a garbage project across the line. You will be thanked more for having a small part in a good project than being the hero on a garbage project.
Strayan here. These nets are used quite widely by a number of local councils including Greater Sydney. They are not universally used though. Larger waterways may have a boom, a number have these nets, some have something like a metal sieve and many have nothing
Some people have suggested a vacuum may be easier. But a council in Australia always has bulldozers and rubbish trucks available, so it may fit better into that existing infrastructure