A concerted anti litter campaign combining education, guidance and enforcement, has won high praise for the City of Whittlesea from the Victorian Environment Protection Authority.
“Councils, police, parks authorities, VicRoads and the Public Transport Corporation all have the power to be proactive on litter, and the City of Whittlesea is a good example to them,” said EPA Chairman Brian Robinson.
Whittleseas’s campaign follows a residents’ survey which identified litter as a major concern. The district is flat and therefore prone to wind blown litter. In addition, as a growing Municipality on Melbourne’s fringe, it has many vacant blocks of land which attract illegal dumping of rubbish.
Enlisting the support of shopkeepers and residents the City decided to declare ‘war on litter’. Signs were erected at litter prone areas including details of the cost of fines liable to be incurred. Local football clubs were encouraged to address litter problems at home games with bins provided by Council.
A hotline to Council encouraged residents to nominate the worst litter sites in the Municipality. Local laws officers have backed this up by consistently enforcing penalties.
On one occasion Officers traced the culprit, who dumped a load of auto rubbish on vacant land, through recovering documentation from the load. Once fined, Local Laws Officers say there are few recidivists and the message soon spreads.
“The $100 litter fines will help reduce littering and rubbish dumping, and particularly encourage habitual litterers to do the right thing,” said Whittlesea’s Chief Executive Officer, Graeme Brennan. “The aim is to try and stop litter problems at their source.”
The success of the campaign in gaining community involvement was highlighted recently with many volunteers joining in Clean Up Australia Day. An education campaign targeting local schoolchildren is being introduced this year to encourage good habits from an early age.
For further information contact Jim Linton, telephone (03) 9217 2219.
