Council’s war on litter to ramp up thanks to EPA grant

Published on 18 September 2024

Byron Shire Council is thrilled to announce it has been awarded a $420,000 grant from the NSW Government’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA) under the Litter Prevention Grants program to help prevent and reduce litter across the Shire.

The injection of funds is timely with Council starting to roll out its new Litter and Illegal Dumping Prevention Strategy which aims to create long-term behaviour change among residents, businesses and visitors over the next five years. 

Jordyn de Boer, from Council’s Resource Recovery team, said Byron Shire was one of 16 councils in NSW to receive funding.

“This funding will allow us to implement the litter component of our recently adopted Litter and Illegal Dumping Prevention Strategy, which is great news for Council and the community,” Ms de Boer said.

“Litter costs Byron Shire approximately $1.45 million per year. 

“Managing litter comes at a substantial cost to ratepayers, as well as being a health hazard and harming our natural environment and wildlife.,” she said.

In a recent EPA Litter study, plastic items such as takeaway beverage and food packaging made up 81 per cent of littered items in NSW. 

Balloons and decorations, fishing related litter and cigarette butts were also top contributors found in litter monitoring conducted by Byron Shire Council over the past five years.  

The strategy will target these key littered items through campaigns such as Balloon Free Byron Shire, Source to Sea, and working with businesses to cut waste off at the source, as well as ensure proper management of waste.

Infrastructure that promotes a circular economy will also be implemented as part of the strategy. 

Information about litter and illegal dumping is on Council’s website.