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Zero Waste A Total Success

The Bass Coast community participated enthusiastically in Zero Waste Week, a statewide campaign which ran from October 23 to October 30.

By Bass Coast Shire - 14th November 2005 - Back to News

Bass Coast Shire Council’s Environmental Project Officer, Clare Lamers, said the plastic bag exchange program run through Council was a resounding success.

Two 240L bins from the Cowes and Wonthaggi Customer Service Centres were brimming with plastic bags by the end of the week.

More than 3,000 plastic bags were collected during the promotion, with 320 reusable bags distributed to the community.

"It was fantastic to see so many people taking advantage of the plastic bag exchange offer," said Ms Lamers. "That’s more people using less bags, which is a great achievement."

"The plastic bags collected during the week will be recycled through the facilities offered by the Safeway Supermarket in Wonthaggi and Coles Supermarket in Cowes."

Ms Lamers went on to say that 20 million Australians use approximately six billion plastic check-out bags every year and that plastic bag litter is a major threat in a marine environment.

"Plastic bags can be lethal," said Ms Lamers. "Over 100,000 sea animals a year perish because of them."

Zero Waste Week also marked the launch of a statewide campaign – "Lets Start Training For The Games" - aimed at educating and promoting litter awareness, to help combat littering in the lead up to the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

"Zero Waste Week enhanced people’s awareness of the issues around littering, recycling and reducing," said Ms Lamers.

"Hopefully the State Government litter advertising will continue to keep the community focused on what we can do to reduce the litter on our streets and the amount of waste ending up in landfill."

There are many little things people can do which will help to achieve significant waste reduction, explained Ms Lamers, including:

· Carrying a personal ashtray if you are a smoker.

· When shopping, look for products with minimal packaging.

· Take your lunch in a reusable container to avoid using gladwrap and bags.

· When you are out walking your dog always pick up your dog’s business.

· Don’t have your waste and recycling bins overflowing when they are put out for kerbside collection.

· When sweeping paved areas, pick up the waste and put it in the bin or compost. Never hose or sweep it down the stormwater drains.

· Carry a litterbag in your car for collecting rubbish.

· Secure your load when transporting material to make sure nothing flies off.

· When you are out, make sure your waste goes in the public bins and not beside it.

Ms Lamers encouraged people to visit the following websites for further tips on how to reduce waste and recycle more efficiently.

Planet Ark (www.planetark.com.au)

Sustainability Victoria (www.sustainability.vic.gov.au)

Victorian Litter Action Alliance (www.litter.vic.gov.au)

Or to contact Council on (03) 5671 2211 or (03) 5951 3311.


Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com



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