A six-month trial of a new litter reduction campaign at Brunswick Heads has been a huge success with almost 6000 take-away items, including single-use straws, containers and smoothie cups stopped from going into landfill.
The ‘Bring it Back Bruns’ campaign was the first of its kind in Australia, and was funded through a NSW Environment Protection Authority litter prevention grant.
It involved five environmentally conscious businesses serving food and drinks in reusable containers that people returned either to the shop or public collection bins for washing after they were finished.
Over the trial period 2907 reusable items were collected and washed from the public collection bins by contractor Green My Plate. With a similar amount returned and washed by participating businesses.
Sarah Child, council’s resource recovery strategy and engagement officer, said surveys of litter before and during the trial indicate that takeaway litter had reduced by 30 per cent.
“Because this is the first time in Australia that anyone has run this sort of project, we didn’t know what to expect but the results are terrific,” Ms Child said.
“While people can still borrow and return containers to Bernardis Gelato, Rosefinas Place and the Brunswick Heads Health Food Store, we are now assessing all the data and have reported back to the NSW Environment Protection Authority,” she said.
“This project was all about getting people to think about the waste they generate – businesses and consumers – encouraging them to play their own roles in reducing single-use takeaway litter.
“The response from the Brunswick Heads community, businesses included, was very positive and what we were able to do in Bruns will no doubt be trialed and replicated in other parts of Australia as we collectively continue to prevent litter and reduce waste,” Ms Child said.
The businesses that took park in the Bring it Back Bruns project were:
* Brunswick Heads Health Food Shop.
* Cadeau.
* Bernardis Gelato.
* In the Pink.
* Rosefina’s Place.
More information about Bring it Back Bruns is on council’s website.
