Sign up to dob in a litterbug

ROADSIDE litter is one of our region's most unnecessary and preventable environmental problems.

Lismore City Council is clamping down on littering. Picture: Contributed

LISMORE City Council has ramped up its anti-littering campaign - cracking down on littering and encouraging residents to register with the NSW EPA to report littering offences from vehicles.

The council said: "The community tells us that they don't like littering or litterers. Research shows people are less likely to litter if they think someone is watching."

The Report to EPA service was part of a NSW State Government anti-littering program and aimed to deter people from littering from vehicles by increasing the likelihood of being seen, reported and fined.

Karen Rudkin, Litter Project Coordinator from North East Waste said: "The campaign sends a clear message that littering is unacceptable. Roadside litter is one of our region's most unnecessary and preventable environmental problems. Reporting littering from vehicles helps to raise awareness, change behaviour, reduce clean-up costs and keep our community clean".

"By registering to report littering from vehicles, you are part of the solution to the issue of litter. Each year over 25,000 tonnes of litter is tossed in NSW. It costs council a considerable amount of money to clean up so we want people to stop littering so we can use those funds for other services."

So far, more than 19,000 people across NSW have registered with Report to EPA. More than 25,000 reports of littering from a vehicle have been made and more than 16,000 fines have been issued by the EPA so far.

The council is a member of North East Waste, who are leading the anti-litter campaign throughout the Northern Rivers, where there are currently more than 450 people registered to report littering from vehicles. The aim of the campaign is to reduce roadside littering by further increasing the number of residents registered to report.

If a report was made by an adult member of the public of someone littering from a vehicle, the NSW EPA can issue fines of $250 for an individual and $500 for a corporation.

The council and North East Waste encourage everyone to get on board this summer by registering to report littering from vehicles at: www.epa.nsw.gov.au/reporttoepa