Environment Minister joins volunteers to tackle litter

Environment Minister Dr Steven Miles today (Sunday) urged Queenslanders to get behind this year’s Clean Up Australia Day by collecting a load of litter or rubbish.

Mr Miles and Member for Murrumba Chris Whiting joined volunteers from the Mango Hill and North Lakes Environment Group (MHANLEG) to clean up an area around Lake Halpine, north of Brisbane.

“Clean Up Australia Day is all about encouraging people to clean up their environment and understand the impact litter can have on their community, environment and our wildlife,” Mr Miles said.

“It is a great opportunity for everyone to come together and do their bit. We all love Queensland – so let’s keep it clean.

“By disposing properly of our litter and taking responsibility for our own backyard we can make a real difference. I encourage all Queenslanders to get out and lend a hand today.”

Mr Whiting said the Palaszczuk Government was committed to reducing litter entering the environment by working towards banning light-weight single-use plastic shopping bags and introducing a Container Refund Scheme.

“We need to step up our efforts to get this plastic out of our environment and I am pleased to say the government’s discussion paper to ban lightweight single-use plastic bags in 2018 received more than 26,000 submissions - an extraordinary demonstration of the community’s passion about this issue.

“Plastic bags pose real threats to land and marine environments—causing serious impacts on marine life.

“We are also preparing for a container refund scheme aimed to get empty drink cans and bottles off our beautiful beaches, parks and public areas,” he said.

MHANLEG President Dave Norman said the group was passionate about the North Lakes and Mango Hill environment.

“This is a very special area, and Clean Up Australia Day is a fantastic way to bring people together and help protect and improve our precious natural environment,” Mr Norman said.

“It’s a great opportunity to ensure we have some extra hands on deck to keep it clean and tidy, and a chance to raise community awareness about the damaging effects of litter, especially plastic bags.

“Litter is very detrimental to wildlife, and without our wildlife North Lakes would just be another modern town,” he said.

Mr Miles said the Container Refund Scheme discussion paper was open for public consultation until 20 March 2017 at https://www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au/gi/consultation/3450/view.html

Also, members of the public are reminded they can report littering or illegal dumping offences they witness at https://report-littering-dumping.ehp.qld.gov.au.   

Information on the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection’s littering and illegal dumping initiatives is available at www.ehp.qld.gov.au/waste/loveqld.

ENDS

MEDIA 0412 393 909