reducing litter

Reducing Litter And Waste In Australia

No matter how many times people hear the message reduce, reuse and recycle, it’s still apparent that a lot of places in Australia are still troubled by a litter problem.

Organisation Keep Australia Beautiful (KAB) is aiming to reducing the level of litter, raise public awareness of the issue and track the nation’s progress.

Every year, KAB releases a National Litter Index (NLI) and this quantitatively measures where, what kind of and how much littering occurs in Australia. This is calculated by counting litter twice a year across 983 national sites.

This year’s results have proved encouraging, with a 3.4 per cent drop in litter by item and 1.8 per cent drop in volume over the past year. In the past eight years, overall by item litter has reduced 20 per cent, and a 31 per cent drop in volume has occurred.

Yet of course as there is still litter in the streets, more progress needs to be made. More states can take inspiration from Victoria, which has led the pack in litter prevention.

As for those areas in need of the most improvement despite some progress – Tasmania had the highest amount of litter per item, 48 per cent over the national average. By overall volume, Western Australia was 71 per cent over the national average.

“A holistic approach encompassing education and awareness campaigns, community engagement programs, great bin infrastructure that is well placed and well serviced, as well as various enforcement activities, demonstrates best practice and a cooperative attitude that engages community, government and business,” said Don Chambers, national chairman of KAB, discussing what works best in litter reduction initiatives.

To play your part in reducing litter and waste, where possible use eco friendly products which can be reused and/or recycled, such as reusable shopping bags and coffee cups – and always place any rubbish you do generate in a designated bin.

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