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Cigarette butts in stormwater pollutes our waterways.Baw Baw Shire Council has launched a campaign to target cigarette butt littering. By Baw Baw Shire Council - 16th March 2004 - Back to News The ‘BUTTsOUT’ campaign will target Baw Baw residents and visitors and aims to reduce the impact of cigarette butt litter on our local environment.
Launching the first of ten street mounted butt bins to be installed around the Warragul CBD, newly elected mayor, Cr. (to be advised) said "Council recognises that cigarette butt litter is a serious environmental concern in our community. Cigarette butts make up over 50% of littered items: they spoil our streets, our scenic spots and only attract more butts and other litter."
"We want to educate smokers to be responsible about their butts so we can protect the local environment by dramatically increasing the amount of butts that are binned. "It’s about preventing litter in the first place rather than have the community foot the bill to clean up afterwards", Cr (to be advised) said.
Baw Baw Stormwater Education Officer, Peter Collins said that the problem with butts doesn’t end on the ground.
"Butts on the street end up in our waterways after being washed down stormwater drains. One in ten butts ends up in our creeks and rivers and make up 30% of litter items in stormwater. They pollute the water by leaching chemicals and cause all sorts of harm to marine and freshwater wildlife. Cigarette butts have often been found in the stomachs of dead birds and fish," Mr. Collins said.
Mr. Collins said research into smokers’ attitudes and behaviours has found that most smokers do not consider butts to be litter.
"Smokers think butts are either too small to be litter or that they will be swept up by someone else, especially in urban areas. They often don’t realise that cigarette butts take many years to break down. When made aware of the environmental impacts, most smokers realise they should take more care," Mr Collins said.
Legislative changes in recent years have also meant more smokers are out on the streets, where they often drop their butts - even if there is a bin close by".
Mr Collins said "We want to educate smokers to take personal responsibility for their butts and the best way to do that is for them to carry a personal ashtray with them at all times. This way they will avoid penalties ranging from a $100 ‘on the spot’ fine up to a maximum of $4,000. Last year the EPA issued over 13,700 fines for littering from cars, with over 90% of these for cigarette butts".
This week, the BUTTsOUT campaign will distribute over 1,000 personal ashtrays free to Baw Baw residents and at Farm World 2004. They will also soon be available in selected shops around Warragul and Drouin.
The campaign is a joint project of the Baw Baw Shire/ Latrobe City Stormwater Education Program and Waterwatch. The program has been assisted with funding from the Victorian Government through EPA Victoria as part of the Victorian Stormwater Action Program. Community members can join in the campaign by reporting any litter thrown from cars by ringing the EPA Litter Report Line on 1800 35 25 55 or log on to www.epa.vic.gov.au/litter/
For further information contact Peter Collins, Stormwater Education Officer, Baw Baw Shire. Ph. 51 757800 Mobile 0407862354
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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