As part of Keep Australia Beautiful, everyone is being encouraged to do the right thing and help protect the local environment by reducing waste and litter.

Every year Keep Australia Beautiful Week reminds us all to Do the Right Thing and care for our environment by reducing litter and preventing the dumping of waste.

Litter is not only bad for the environment—it costs the Australian public an estimated $300-$350 million every year in clean up costs.

The whole community can help make our local area litter free and reduce waste, but it does require everyone to play their part—your local authority, waste contractors, schools, businesses and individuals—all can be involved in reducing litter and waste.

This year Keep Australia Beautiful is focusing on encouraging us to crack down on the world’s most littered item: cigarette butts.

Around seven billion cigarette butts are thoughtlessly discarded in Australia every year.

They are not biodegradable, can leach chemicals into the local environment and pose a significant bushfire risk if not properly extinguished.  Don’t be a tosser – pick it up and put it in a bin.

Pets and wildlife can mistake cigarette butts for food, exposing them to toxic chemicals.

The Coalition government continues to support Keep Australia Beautiful and their commitment to litter reduction, reuse and recycling.

Through the National Landcare Program the Australian government is providing $300,000 over three years to support the work of Keep Australia Beautiful. 

This funding is supporting the annual Keep Australia Beautiful Week, the Eco-Schools program, the Australian Clean Beaches program and the Australian Tidy Towns program. Don’t leave it to someone else to pick up after you. 

This Keep Australia Beautiful Week, do the right thing – pick it up and put it in a bin.

Information on the full range of Keep Australia Beautiful programs is available at http://kab.org.au/