Peter Gutwein,Minister for the Environment, Parks and Heritage
Tasmania's environment is one of our greatest assets and we all share responsibility to protect it.
Today, the Hodgman majority Liberal Government, in partnership with the Environment Protection Authority, has launched a new resource for primary schools to help students understand the importance of combatting litter.
The resource outlines various hands-on lessons and activities to teach kids about the impacts of litter when it is washed down rivers and into the sea, where it can affect water quality, and can entrap or entangle wildlife.
Litter also affects our enjoyment of the environment, and the Government has committed to reducing Tasmania's littering rate by 50 per cent by 2023 and we have introduced a number of initiatives to reduce our littering rates.
This includes increasing penalties for illegal dumping, establishing the litter hotline to report illegal dumping and developing a system where people on Community Corrections Orders will help clean up beaches, parks and reserves.
The Hodgman majority Liberal Government has also committed to implementing a Container Refund Scheme by 2022. Drink containers currently account for around 41 per cent of litter by volume in Tasmania, and evidence from other states shows that introducing a CRS results in a significant decrease in litter.
The Government has also increased funding to $45,000 per annum to Keep Australia Beautiful so it can continue its important work.
The teaching resource is part of a series produced by EPA Tasmania about waste, and can be found at www.epa.tas.gov.au/sustainability/resources-for-schools/waste-education
