Media Release – 16 August 2012
Litter – it’s no laughing matter!
Keep Australia Beautiful Week kicks off on Monday 20 August and lending a hand to help
promote the fight against litter are two of Australia’s finest comedy actors Shane Bourne
and Christie Whelan.
Set to hit the stage in the new comedy musical - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to
the Forum, alongside Geoffrey Rush and an all-star cast in October, Bourne and Whelan
are supporting the Keep Australia Beautiful campaign in an effort to remind people that
rubbish thrown on our streets can do more harm to the environment than just look ugly.
In the annual Keep Australia Beautiful National Litter Index, highways and roads are
amongst the highest littered areas in Australia by volume*, indicating that Australians are
not doing the right thing with their rubbish when they are out and about or in their cars.
Millions of pieces litter including takeaway wrappers, cups, cigarette butts and
packets, beverage containers, bottle tops, newspapers and more are being
discarded along our roads and highways, ending up in our rivers and oceans.
This poses a threat to people and the environment, and can cause injury and
death to animals and marine life, through polluted and unsafe water ways,
bushfires from lit cigarette butts, and food scraps littered on or near busy roads and
highways.
According to the award-winning actress Christie Whelan, taking responsibility for our
litter is something that we can all do.
“Unfortunately, there are still people who think that a little bit of rubbish dropped on
the ground or left on a beach or camp site, doesn’t really hurt. Yet, just one piece
of rubbish contributes to the pollution of our oceans and can harm or kill our
wildlife, so every single piece does in fact count!”
Critically acclaimed actor and comedian Shane Bourne adds,
“Getting behind the Keep Australia Beautiful initiative is the easiest thing that
anyone can do to help protect the local environment. Putting your rubbish in a
bin, recycling it where you can and even going that step further to pick up litter you
see laying around whenever you can, helps keep it out of harm’s way and out of
our waterways!”
The Hungry Jack’s ‘Bag it and Bin it’ program is Principal Sponsor of Keep Australia
Beautiful Week, and will be targeting customers with the anti-litter message to
remind them of the need to dispose of their packaging waste responsibly when on
the road.
You can get involved by adopting a local road and getting a group of friends,
neighbours, colleagues or classmates together to collect the rubbish and take it
home for correct disposal or recycling. It’s a great way to keep fit and get
outdoors and do your bit to help protect your local environment and wildlife.
Why your litter won’t go away!
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* These times may vary slight depending on exposure to water and air.
Aluminum cans can take between 80 - 200 years to break down
A foam cup can take up to 50 years to decompose
Plastic bags take 10 to 20 years to break down
A glass bottle can take up to 500 years to decompose
Paper and cardboard looks unsightly with paper taking 2-4 weeks to break down.
A plastic bottle can take up to 450 years to break down
Cigarette butts can take 10-12 years on average to break down.
Orange Peel can take up to 6 months to break down.
A cardboard milk carton can take up to 5 years to decompose
Anti-litter travelling tips
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Always carry a car tidy bag when you’re travelling. If you can take your rubbish home
with you, it helps keep public bins from overflowing and means you can recycle most
of it instead.
Stop, revive and survive by eating your food at the restaurant or roadside rest area
and use the bins and amenities provided there.
If you are a smoker, when driving always take a personal ashtray with you. Not
disposing of butts responsibly can cause fires and harm animals when ingested.
You can contact Butt Free Australia to receive a free personal ashtray.
Food scraps are litter too and can kill or cause injury to wildlife when eaten or
thrown near roads & highways. Bin your scraps in public, or compost them
when at home.
If toilet facilities are not available and you get caught whilst travelling, carry a
metal trowel so you can bury the waste/paper/tissues. Sanitary items and
nappies should be taken home or binned as they do not degrade.
If you come across someone else’s rubbish, don’t ignore it. Do the right thing
and place it in a bin but please use caution.
For further information visit the KAB Week pages at www.kab.org.au
Media Contact: Lara Shannon on 0415 076015 or laras@kab.org.au
*In the Keep Australia Beautiful National Litter Index 2011/2012, Highways are
second only to Industrial sites by volume. Full national and individual state/territory
results will be results will be launched on Monday 20th August.