The storage of waste can cause a nuisance to neighbours and interfere with their normal daily activities. If severe enough, it can even impact on people’s health and the environment.
Litter is caused by carelessness and irresponsible behaviour and is also impacted by a number of factors including lack of facilities and infrastructure, and lack of knowledge.
Litter is an environmental problem that impacts upon the whole community. Common litter items include:
- cigarette butts
- paper products, such as packaging, newspaper and advertising material
- confectionary wrappers
- beverage containers
- takeaway food and drink containers
- bottle/can tops
Some types of litter may also hurt people or damage property, for example:
- unextinguished cigarette butts
- broken glass
- syringes
- pieces of metal
Disposal methods can also make litter dangerous. For example, objects discarded from moving vehicles can be hazardous to other motorists, cyclists and pedestrians or result in property damage (e.g. through bush fires).
Council only has jurisdiction to act on certain waste issues, and shares the responsibility of waste management with other government bodies. Please refer to the information below which outlines authorities for various waste types.
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