Cessnock City Council is ramping up its current anti-littering campaign by allowing residents to report tossers in moving vehicles to New South Wales Environmental Protection Agency online.
Last year Adopt a Road groups collected 14.4 tonnes of waste in the Cessnock local government area out of 25, 000 tonnes across the state.
The new campaign means the EPA can issue fines of $250 to individuals caught or reported littering from a moving vehicle and up to $500 for corporate offences.
Cessnock Sustainability Officer, Trisha Donnelly says the movement will raise awareness, change behaviour and reduce clean-up costs involved in waste management.
“It is a big deal, we want our environment to look neat and tidy. We want to attract visitors to the region, and it’s just not a good look when the first thing you see when you drive into a town is litter on the roadside.
“Our campaign is to mobilize the community to report littering; to stand up and say ‘this is not acceptable behaviour in our community any more’. It’s a serious offence.”
The campaign is being pushed by the council following research that shows people are less likely to litter if they think someone is watching.
Residents are being encouraged to collect free car-tidy bags from Cessnock Library, Kurri Kurri Library and the Hunter Valley Visitor Centre to prevent littering.
Cessnock City Council in partnership with the NSW Environmental Protection Agency urge individuals who see someone littering from their vehicle to submit a report through registering at: http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/litter/from-vehicle.htm
Photo Credit: www.cessnock.nsw.gov.au
