Smashing the litter reduction target
We have been waging a war against litter for the past nine-years and an evaluation of our work has shown we have surpassed the NSW Government 2020 target of 40 per cent. We’re still going though so look out for our latest Tosser! advertising campaign.
Marine litter campaigns and grants are just one way that helped the EPA surpass our reduction target
Executive Director Liesbet Spanjaard said that with the EPA’s help, the people of NSW hit and exceeded the target and reduced litter by 43 per cent.
“This is a terrific result! And now we’re setting our sights on a new target to reduce litter by a further 60% from current littering rates, by 2030,” Liesbet said.
Highlights of the nine-year $50 million Litter Prevention Program include:
- The introduction and success of Return and Earn, the NSW Container Deposit Scheme
Starting in 2017 Return and Earn has enormous support from community and has grown beyond expectations. The 10 cent incentive to reduce drink container litter, has led to a staggering 7 billion containers being returned. Return and Earn has played its part in an overall 52 per cent reduction in the volume of drink container litter in NSW in the past four years and has provided over $28 million in fundraising revenue for charities and community groups.
- An innovative marine litter campaign
To reduce litter in our waterways and oceans and its detrimental effect on marine life, we launched an exciting marine litter campaign in March 2021 including the smash hit song Don’t Be A Tosser by Rocky the Lobster and his band. Read about the latest Tosser! Campaign.
- Stand-out results from the world-leading Cigarette Butt Litter Prevention Trial
In 2018, we put the heat on cigarette butts. We led a collaborative behaviour change trial to understand what strategies are effective in reducing cigarette butt littering behaviour. Outcomes show binning rates increased from 38 per cent to 58 per cent and 76 per cent of butts went in the bin. For more information, see the report and supporting video.
Read more about the evaluation report..
Tosser! is one of the EPA's most successful behaviour changing campaigns
Latest Tosser! campaign launches on social and web media
Our latest Tosser! campaign launched this month. We continue educating and encouraging the community to properly dispose of litter and stop it polluting our environment and precious waterways. Watch the latest Tosser! campaign video.
Want to know how you can be a part of the solution? Don’t miss our new ‘Don’t Be a Tosser!’ website to find out more about the campaign, the impact of litter and how you can play your part. Have a go at our engaging quiz and follow the ‘journey of litter’.