Smoking ban Mornington Peninsula: Mt Eliza, Safety Beach, Rye, Point Leo
Smokers are being told to butt out at some Mornington Peninsula foreshores and parks this winter. Here’s where you can no longer light up.
South East
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A smoking ban is being trialled at select foreshores and one park on the Mornington Peninsula.
Lighting up at Mt Eliza, Safety Beach, Rye and Point Leo foreshores and Civic Reserve in Mornington is no longer allowed.
Smoking is also now banned at the council offices in Mornington, Rosebud and Hastings.
Mornington Peninsula Shire council will monitor the six month ban with help from community members and review it in November.
Butt bins and signs will be installed to explain the trial and encourage people to do the right thing.
Mayor Despi O’Connor said the trial aimed to cut the number of cigarette butts on Mornington Peninsula beaches.
“In 2019, around 35,400 cigarette butts were picked up across 16 Mornington Peninsula beaches on Clean Up Australia Day,” Cr O’Connor said.
“This smoke free zone trial … will help stop second hand smoke exposure, greatly reduce the amount of butt litter, protect our precious environment and reduce the health impact of smoking on our community.”
Litter expert Josie Jones said statistics showed that 6o per cent of Australian smokers littered.
But she said education and infrastructure were crucial to changing behaviour.
“We have to change the culture of disrespect. There is disrespect for the environment and disrespect for other people,” Ms Jones said.
Ms Jones has been picking up litter and observing litterers along the Mornington Peninsula coastline for more than a decade.
She said her observations had revealed that the litter collected from the beach in winter had been dropped the season before.
“What we will see on the beaches over the next few months will be litter from autumn and late summer.
“Because the tides are higher in winter the water pulls litter from the sand that was buried there months before.
“If the council chooses to trial a smoking ban the smartest time to do it would be in peak season, over the summer.”
