The NSW Government has awarded more than $930,000 to councils and community groups under the latest round of litter prevention grants.
Planning, Industry and Environment Department Circular Economy Executive Director Sanjay Sridher said funding has been awarded to 13 local councils in both metro and regional NSW.
“They include cleaning up and preventing litter at transport interchanges in Blacktown, preventing litter at tourist hotspots in Byron Bay and funding for solar smart bins in Forbes, which will send an alert to the council when a bin is full,” he said.
“Nobody likes to see litter in their parks or waterways, and tackling the problem at a local level – through the councils and groups that really know the area – is an effective way to prevent litter for the long term.”
According to Mr Sridher, eight community groups have also received funding.
Projects include reducing plastic at Lake Macquarie Cafes, support for the Airds Clean Up Crew in the Macarthur area and helping Tathra Surf Life Saving Club with its clean-up and litter patrols.
“Now it’s a matter of making sure the right programs are in place to clean-up hotspots and give tossers a nudge when it comes to disposing of rubbish properly,” Mr Sridher said.
The grants program is supported by NSW’s first litter prevention strategy, which sets out actions and timeframes to achieve the state government’s target to reduce the volume of litter in NSW by 40 per cent by 2020.
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