The City of Canterbury Bankstown in New South Wales is tackling littering by taking to the streets.
Administrator, Richard Colley, said litter audits undertaken over a two-day period revealed Beamish Street in the suburb of Campsie was one of the most heavily littered areas in the City.
“More than 670 pieces of rubbish were collected, while more than half of 50 businesses surveyed said they felt litter was a serious problem in the area,” Mr Colley said.
“As a result, we came up with a targeted approach to reduce the litter rate in the Campsie CBD.”
The program included: the installation of eight new bins in Beamish Street; the establishment of a community-led group to drive anti-litter management in Campsie; on-the-spot fines, which can range from $80-$900; and educating locals about improving their rubbish disposal habits through signage and a ‘pledging event’.
The take the pledge to Keep Campsie Clean event was held in January.
Mr Colley said the event gave locals “the chance to stand up and commit to doing the right thing and, at the same time, teach them more about the environmental, social and economic impact of littering”.
Residents had the chance to win prizes as part of a quiz, which tested their knowledge of litter, while the Little Aussie Butt-lers promoted the anti-litter message through street theatre.
This is the second recent CBD litter campaign introduced by Council.
In September, the final stage of the Locals Like Greenacre Litter Free campaign was rolled out.
This included: the installation of 12 new bins, with signage, along Waterloo Road, Greenacre; street performers entertaining and educating shoppers and businesses about litter; and dedicated cleaning staff picking up litter around Greenacre three times a day.
