Council adopts Litter Prevention Plan, secures $400,000 EPA grant

16 May 2025

Hawkesbury City Council’s new Litter Prevention Plan has received a significant boost with a $400,000 grant from the NSW Environment Protection Authority, awarded through its litter prevention program under the state’s Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy.

The newly adopted plan’s vision is 'Empowering Council, community, businesses, and visitors, to take informed, efficient actions towards a litter-free future'. It sets targets to reduce total litter and cigarette butt litter by 20% by 2029 and to reduce the proportion of people in the community who litter to under 40%.

Litter prevention will now be integrated into the Council’s strategic planning and reporting framework, with robust monitoring and evaluation built in. The plan identifies six priority litter items – cigarette butts, takeaway food packaging, snack and confectionery wrappers, drink containers, party items (balloons, confetti) and small litter fragments – and five priority locations (recreational parks, car parks, the Hawkesbury River, retail areas and roadsides) for focused action.

Council will also boost investment in bins and other infrastructure, and encourage residents, businesses and visitors to take part via programs like the Report a Tosser initiative. The plan is being delivered in partnership with the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) to help amplify the anti-litter message across the region.

Litter has a significant cost to the community. According to the NSW EPA, litter costs the state approximately $162.6 million annually, with local councils shouldering roughly 83% of that burden. Locally, a WSROC audit found that of the 536 tonnes of public-space waste collected in the Hawkesbury in 2021–22, only 45.7% (about 245 tonnes) was placed in bins, while 54.3% (291 tonnes) was littered. These findings underscore the importance of the plan’s targets and actions in keeping Hawkesbury’s parks, rivers and streets clean and safe.

Mayor Les Sheather said the plan and funding would be a game-changer for the community.

“We all want clean parks, rivers and neighbourhoods,” Mayor Sheather said.

“This Litter Prevention Plan, backed by the $400,000 EPA grant, means we can put more bins in parks, run education programs, and get everyone – residents, businesses and visitors – involved in reducing litter.

“By working together we can meet our targets, save ratepayers money on clean-up costs, and protect our natural areas for future generations.”

This project is an initiative of the NSW Environment Protection Authority under the NSW Government’s Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy and is funded from the waste levy.