The Keep Australia Beautiful Council’s Litter Prevention Strategy has set a new target to reduce litter levels by 30 per cent within five years.
The five-year strategy includes four strategic objectives including an increase in community understanding of the impacts of litter on the environment; a contribution to the long-term prevention of litter and marine debris; and ensuring the community is aware of the penalties for littering.
Finally, the Strategy seeks to monitor the level of litter in the State and its marine environment, and evaluate the effectiveness of programs.
Minister for the Environment, Stephen Dawson said the new Litter Prevention Strategy was borne out of the excellent results achieved by the previous Strategy between 2015 and 2020.
“Litter has a serious impact on the natural environment,” Mr Dawson said.
“One of the key objectives of the new Strategy is to increase community understanding of the impacts of litter.
“Even organic matter can take months to break down,” he said.
“It attracts animals to the roadside, which can be lethal for them and dangerous for motorists. It is also harmful for pets and wildlife to ingest decomposing rubbish.”
Mr Dawson said plastics had an especially devastating impact on animals and marine life, and cigarette butts remained in the environment for up to 12 years.
“Cigarette butts remain one-third of the litter items counted every year in Western Australia.”
He said community groups would share in more than $59,000 as part of the Council’s Community Litter Grant scheme.
Announcing the grants at the beginning of Keep Australia Beautiful Week, the Minister said recipients would use the funding for a range of sustainable projects, including beach clean-ups, education campaigns, reducing single-use plastics and cigarette butt litter.
