Byron Shire Council has received a $100,000 EPA grant for litter prevention, with a special focus on eliminating the scourge of cigarette butts from our beaches.
The grant was awarded under the EPA’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative and was one of just 18 projects statewide that were funded under this round of the program.
The council’s project will target cigarette butt littering behaviour across the shire and will include the safe capture of cigarette butts through installation of numerous butt bins.
This will be in addition to regulations and enforcement measures via the implementation of a smoking ban on beaches in Bryon Shire to create a ‘smoke-free’ beach environment to improve the health and safety of the environment and the community at large.
Nationals Parliamentary Secretary for Northern NSW Ben Franklin congratulated Byron Council for securing this funding ‘and for conducting this wonderful program which will provide significant environmental benefits to our community’.
‘Through the Litter Prevention grants, the NSW Government is working with councils to tackle litter at a local level,’ Mr Franklin said.
‘These grants support councils to run programs that assist with litter clean-ups, and community education – we all know what it means to do the right thing when it comes litter, but these grants will help ensure that we put that awareness into action,’ he added.
A total of $1.18 million was awarded in this round to projects that will target local litter hotspots and work to improve community behaviour in regards to littering.
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