With the growth of our team, we are ever mindful of the impact our activities have on the environment. In 2016, Natural Area are introducing monthly sustainability initiatives in order to reduce, reuse or recycle, increase awareness and contribute to sustainable work practices.
A large part of the Natural Area Sustainability Initiatives (NASI) relies on staff participation and interaction. Each month, we will focus on a sustainability issue and look at ways we can address the issue as a company and encourage staff to think about how they can address the issue as an individual in their own home.
Sustainability Initiative # 2 – Littering
Littering in WA
Almost everyone hates litter (99% state that it bothers them) however more than 1 in 4 (29%) confess to littering!
The main excuses offered are that there were no bins/overflowing bins, the litter was biodegradable, or that it was very small.
More than 8 in 10 Australians (83%) state that litter is a problem in their own community yet less than 1 in 10 Australians (7%) participated in an organised clean up event in the last year. And while almost 62% of Australians have witnessed someone litter in the last year, we are less likely to point it out.
Stats from Keep Australia Beautiful, Litter in Australia: Sentiment and Trends Study 2015.
WHAT ARE WE LITTERING?
Top littered items across Australia per 1000 m2:
- cigarette butts
- paper and paperboards
- plastic objects
- plastic food containers
- metal objects
- miscellaneous
- food container or utensils
- non-alcoholic beverage container (metal)
- non-alcoholic beverage container (plastic)
- alcoholic beverage container (glass)
- cigarette packets
- alcoholic beverage container (metal).
Largest volumes of litter across Australia per 1000 m2:
- illegal dumping
- food containers
- plastic
- non-alcoholic beverage container (plastic)
- non-alcoholic beverage container (metal)
- alcoholic beverage container (glass)
- plastic water bottles
- paper publications
- alcoholic beverage container (metal)
- plastic food containers and utensils
- non-alcoholic beverage container (paper)
- metal food containers or utensils.
What can we do?
1. If you are a smoker, dispose of your cigarettes butts responsibly by always putting them in a bin.
2. Give away your unwanted goods to your community through www.freecycle.org or deliver any items in good condition to charities.
3. If you are in an area with no bins, carry a bag and take it with you when you leave to discard later.
4. When transporting any materials, always tie down your load before you take off.
What is Natural Area going to do?
1. Encourage Natural Area personnel to register as a Litter Reporter through the Keep Australia Beautiful website and report acts of littering during the course of daily works.
2. Have staff participate in a Clean-up Australia Day event.
