ARARAT - Ararat Rural City Council has launched a major campaign to rid its streets of cigarette butts, warning residents that local laws relating to illegal litter will be enforced.
Council's environmental health support officer Karina O'Loughlan said council law enforcement staff would not hesitate to issue fines of up to $234 to any person caught dumping butts.
The warning comes amid concerns that cigarette butt litter will continue to escalate now that Victoria's licensed premises are now smoke free.
''Cigarette butts are the most littered item in Victoria, responsible for 56 per cent of our total litter problem,'' Ms O'Loughlan said.
''Around 7.2 billion butts are discarded each year in Australia. If they were placed end to end they would circle the planet 3.6 times.
''Aside from wreaking havoc on our streets and waterways, illegally dumped cigarette butts are a cost burden to council, which must constantly clean them up.''
Council launched its assault on illegal littering last Friday, with councillors and council staff taking to the streets to push the `no butts' message to smokers.
Decked out in black t-shirts bearing the message, `Don't be a tosser - bin your butts', the crusaders distributed stickers, t-shirts and personal pocket sized ashtrays to smokers, retailers and businesses in Barkly Street.
Council's chief executive officer Steve Chapple warned there would be consequences for those smokers who continued to drop their butts.
''We've never issued a fine for dropping cigarette butts before, but that's about to change,'' he said.
Mr Chapple said council's `no butts' campaign had three objectives:
To educate the community that cigarette butts are litter.
To raise awareness of the locations of butt bins and encourage correct use of butt bins.
To use existing enforcement measures (fines) to deal with litterers who do not respond to educational measures.
Council representatives were joined on Friday by members of Ararat Rural Business Association and Ararat Police who are strongly behind the push to clean up Ararat's streets.
Ms O'Loughlan said council surveyed over 80 traders and community members (including smokers and non-smokers) in the lead up to the campaign launch.
''We're delighted to say that council has the support of our retailers and licensed venue operators, all of whom want something done about this issue,'' she said.
Ararat Rural City Mayor, Cr Gwenda Allgood, said the campaign had already garnered a positive response from the public.
''People have been coming up to us and saying they're thrilled that council is doing something about this problem,'' she said.
''What's interesting about it is that a lot of the people coming up to us are smokers themselves.''
Cr Allgood implored smokers to use their common sense and to act responsibly when disposing of their cigarette butts.
''People are very responsible when it comes to smoking itself - they go outside to smoke and do it away from premises that don't allow smoking.
``Now we want as many people as possible to know that butt bins are available and to start using them whenever they possibly can.
''There's nothing worse than walking down the street and seeing cigarette butts littering the pavement.''
Cr Allgood said designated `butt bins' were put up outside smoking hotspots about three or four years ago, and that council is investigating current bin design and locations around Ararat Rural City in order to maximise their effectiveness.
Councillor Allgood said the project was partly motivated by tourism concerns, and that those behind the campaign were intent on encouraging tourists to the area.
''We want to show tourists that we're responsible in regards to what we do with our litter,'' she said.
Town aesthetics aside, Cr Allgood also reminded smokers that cigarette butts that are not properly extinguished can pose a fire hazard, whether they are thrown from car windows or dropped into larger bins in the street.
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