Greater Sydney Harbour Regional Litter Prevention Strategy – Project Scope

A regional approach to litter prevention

Litter is a cross-catchment issue that doesn’t adhere to council boundary lines. A regional approach will improve information sharing, targeted litter reduction campaigns, increasing enforcement and improving capture of litter. The RLPS will set a framework for councils and community to collaborate in a regional approach to litter prevention.

Reducing the volume of litter through litter prevention

The Marine Estate Management Authority’s Community Survey identified that water pollution is considered the greatest threat to the marine estate by the NSW community. For the Greater Sydney Harbour Catchment, much of this pollution comes from stormwater discharge. Data collected by Transport for NSW has identified that non-organic mater accounts for approximately 40% of the debris collected from Sydney Harbour each year. The RLPS will set out a range of actions to reduce the volume of litter with a primary focus on litter prevention.

Embedding litter reduction into council policies, strategies and programs

The development of the RLPS is being undertaken in close collaboration with the three pilot councils to ensure valuable information is included and gaps are identified to help form a clear framework and pathway for embedding litter reduction activities into council policy, strategy and programs. The EPA’s Own It and Act Framework helps understanding of where litter prevention fits into an organisation and how to improve approaches to litter prevention. Adoption of the Own It and Act Framework in conjunction with the RLPS will provide a strong foundation for litter prevention.