Gunnedah Shire Council is encouraging residents not to be ‘tossers’ by taking responsibility for their rubbish and either putting it in a bin or taking it with them.

Gunnedah Shire Council’s Manager of Building and Environment, Blake O’Mullane said that from this week, the Hey Tosser! state wide marketing campaign will roll out across the state, on TV, radio, social media, billboards, and newspapers to remind people that throwing your rubbish anywhere other than in a bin is unacceptable.

“The objectives of the Hey Tosser! litter campaign are to drive a change in social norms around litter by raising awareness about littering and its impacts, and reducing littering behaviour,” Mr O’Mullane said.

“Litter damages our natural environments, harms wildlife and sea creatures, can injure people and makes our public spaces less safe. Litter is not just unsightly – it’s also very costly. More than $180 million a year is spent managing litter in NSW. Our Council commits a significant amount of resources to managing litter in our region. Money that could be much better spent for the community elsewhere.”

Research consistently identifies littering as an area of concern across NSW. The Hey Tosser! Campaign is part of the NSW State Government’s comprehensive anti-littering program that aims to reduce litter by sending a clear message that littering is unacceptable.

This timing of the current campaign will leverage the increase in travel during School Holidays, Easter and the Anzac long weekend period and focus on highways and driving to raise awareness about reporting littering from vehicles.

More information about the campaign is at www.epa.nsw.gov.au/heytosser.

ENDS

Media Contact: Eliza Gallen 6740 2100.