Inland Rivers across NSW, including the Macquarie, will be cleaner thanks to a NSW Government grant program.
Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders has announced OzFish will receive $79,180 as part of a $1.8 million litter prevention program managed by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) that aims to tackle local litter hotspots.
“We’ve come a long way with litter on the Macquarie River but there’s still a lot of work to do,” Mr Saunders said.
“Some people still aren’t getting the message that littering does real damage, and frankly it’s just not acceptable in this day and age.
“Grassroots organisations like OzFish know better than anyone where local litter hotspots are and how best to tackle the problem. That’s why we award grants to support litter efforts at a local level.”
The project aims to reduce litter in Dubbo’s Macquarie River by 60% by 2030 and reduce plastic litter by 30% by 2025. The long term aim is to develop a litter prevention strategy to be used for other inland rivers across NSW by working with the recreational fishing community and industry in litter prevention initiatives. It includes establishing litter data baseline, identifying litter hotspots and engaging with community and industry stakeholders.
OzFish Inland Waterways co-founder Matt Hansen OAM welcomed the funding.
“This funding will only strengthen our ability to keep the Macquarie free from rubbish long into the future,” Mr Hansen said.
Projects completed through previous grants have been extraordinarily successful – reducing average litter by 70 per cent at targeted hotspots.
This year’s grants will build on recent successes with projects such as solar smart bins, butt litter bins, ‘swap and go takeaway’ container schemes, and a range of awareness campaigns.
The Litter Prevention Grants Program supports the NSW Government’s Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041, which includes targets to reduce plastic litter by 30 per cent by 2025, and 60 per cent of all litter items by 2030.
More information about the NSW Litter Prevention Program, Litter Prevention Grants and other litter initiatives including Return and Earn and the Don’t be a Tosser! campaign is available on the EPA website: https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/litter-and-illegal-dumping/epa-work-prevent-litter.