At present, residents in areas from Osborne Park to Fremantle and beyond generate over 500kg of rubbish yearly above the nation’s average, and a recycling rate almost 40% lower than average.
Jeff Angel, from the Boomerang Alliance, has called for a system equitable with the Northern Territory, where the Cash for Containers scheme provides a 10-cent reimbursement on many containers. He said:
“Our analysis of government data shows that Western Australia is by a long way the worst state in Australia for both litter and recycling.”
The Northern Territory initiative resulted in almost 50% less litter within the space of six months, with the refund policy having an instant effect. At present, only about 40% of the 13 billion drink containers purchased yearly in Australia are being recycled.
In April 2012, Tony Burke, the Federal Environment Minister, vocalised support for container deposits - as long as the states get involved in the process. The Boomerang Alliance claims that despite a ’tax and cost of living’ smear campaign, the trickle-down effect would result in less than a half-cent increase in the prices of container goods.
The area’s Print shops are providing business card printing and catalogue printing featuring sustainable products in attempts to increase consumer awareness.
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