Littering & rubbish dumping

Litter is a visual eyesore in the streets and it impacts on the City's stormwater system. The effects of street litter can be devastating on the Yarra River and all marine life within Port Phillip Bay.

Do you litter?

A 1996 study concluded that there is no such thing as a littering type: People of all ages and social backgrounds litter and also use bins properly.

The most littered items are cigarette butts, papers and confectionary wrappers, plastic bags, bottle cans/tops and straws.

Statistics

The following figures indicate the extent of the litter and rubbish collected from streets and lanes within the City of Yarra between July 2000 and June 2001:

Litter collection:

• Street sweeping: 2137.5 Tonnes
• Stormwater pits and traps: 147 tonnes
• Dumped rubbish: 625 tonnes
• Syringes collected: 2060.

Total litter for the year was 2909.5 tonnes, which equates to over 7 tonnes of rubbish dropped by people on any given day within Yarra.

In contrast the collection from council's litter bins was 641 tonnes.

The City of Yarra requires the support of the whole community to beat the litter problem. Council would like to develop sustainable programs in effective litter prevention. To achieve this, involvement from residents is necessary. If you are interested in joining Council's Litter Prevention Taskforce, please contact the Waste Management Officer.

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Further information

Services Contracts Branch
Richmond Town Hall
333 Bridge Road Richmond
Telephone 9205 5000
Email info@yarracity.vic.gov.au

Links

Within this site
Yarra City Council

External sites (Yarra City Council accepts no responsibility for the information or opinions contained within external sites)
Victoria Online

Information supplied by: Electronic communications & design officer - 9205 5214

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