Wyndham litterbugs among the worst in Victoria

The Environment Protection Authority receives an average of 80 complaints a month about litter in Wyndham, making it one of Victoria’s worst municipalities for littering.

New figures released by the EPA reveal that between December 2013 and March this year, 320 complaints were made about litter in Wyndham.

Hobsons Bay was the worst area, with 623 complaints, followed by Melbourne (514) and Brimbank (387).

During the four month reporting period, the EPA received 9612 litter reports.

EPA acting chief executive Katrina McKenzie said the results highlighted that Victorians were fed up with litterers.

“We increased our number of registered litter reporters by 39 per cent on the same time last year, which shows that people are more aware of the problem and are willing to do something about it,” she said.

“Litter is one of this state’s most unnecessary burdens, with a clean-up bill [of] almost $800 million every year.”

Wyndham LitterWatch executive officer John Forrester said the group didn’t believe people were doing enough to dispose of their rubbish properly.

As reported by Star Weekly, Mr Forrester collected 120 pieces of rubbish from Jamieson in Point Cook during a Saturday morning clean-up last month.

More than half of the litter was from takeaway foods, with Mr Forrester collecting straws, serviettes, coffee cups and food packaging.

Litterers can face fines of $288 for a small piece of rubbish or unlit cigarette, increasing to $577 for a lit cigarette.