litterALLYEdition 33
LitterALLY #33 - December 2012
- From the Litter Champion- New tools for roadside litter prevention
- Magic ruled out as litter prevention tactic
- Meet Jacqui Iliff - Kingston's Litter Prevention Officer
- Welcome back Stan Vermeeren
- From beachfront to urban streets
- Poo Power! switched on
- Container recycling grants triple their reach
- How to win an award
- Boosting environmental partnerships in Victoria
- Be a conference speaker /
From the Litter Champion
Candyce Presland, Litter Champion
Welcome to the final edition of litterALLY for 2012.
I hope you've found our e-news informative and that it covers the topics and issues you're interested in. If not, please tell!
In this edition
There's no surprise that summer features this month - Port Phillip's 'No Cuts No Butts' program is into its third year, and the Port Phillip EcoCentre has just appointed a Litter Fairy - one knows a thing or two about litter's non magical qualities.
I'm really keen to profile people in the litter prevention business, so we revisit the Litter Prevention Officer program to introduce Kingston's new LPO Jacqui Iliff, and welcome Stan Vermeeren back to Victoria as the Lower Yarra Litter Strategy's coordinator. Stan's Victorian pedigree dates back to the 1990s, though he's done a few things in between.
There's also information on grants and conferences, and a great story about what dogs can do for the environment, with the help of a passionate human.
Office talk
This has been another big year for VLAA and Sustainability Victoria.
Sustainability Victoria has a new Strategic Plan 2012-2015, and VLAA has developed what I hope will become the benchmark toolkit for litter prevention programs.
This is the Local Litter Measurement Toolkit, which you can read more about in the next article. We will be putting the toolkit through some rigorous useability testing during 2013, and we're always on the look out for projects that can do this. Please do get in touch if interested.
Finally, we're poised for a bumper 2013, and of course, litterALLY is where you'll read about it.
I wish you all a safe, happy and litter free festive season!
Candyce Presland
VLAA Litter Champion
Project managed by Sustainability Victoria
New tools for litter prevention
The Local Litter Measurement Toolkit - taking litter measurement and prevention the next step.
We all have an interest in improving the systems and resources used for litter prevention, and now there is a new suite of tools on the block.
VLAA's litter prevention model is ten years old and has stood the test of time. But experience has pointed to one area worth working on, namely measurement tools and methodologies.
During 2011-2012, the National Centre for Sustainability at Swinburne University of Technology conducted extensive research and testing for a new set of tools to improve this aspect of litter management.
This was a partnership between the Victorian Litter Action Alliance and Sustainability Victoria, with the direct involvement of local government and land management operators.
The result is the Local Litter Measurement Toolkit (LLMT), and a program of useability testing with local governments during 2013, especially the recipients of roadside litter grants.
The toolkit represents a leap forward for litter prevention operators, standardising data collection protocols across Victoria, and radically reducing the amount of time and resources it takes to do the measuring and analysing.
A quick guide to the toolkit is being prepared at the moment, available early in 2013 to whet your appetite.
New tools for litter prevention
The Local Litter Measurement Toolkit - taking litter measurement and prevention the next step.
We all have an interest in improving the systems and resources used for litter prevention, and now there is a new suite of tools on the block.
VLAA's litter prevention model is ten years old and has stood the test of time. But experience has pointed to one area worth working on, namely measurement tools and methodologies.
During 2011-2012, the National Centre for Sustainability at Swinburne University of Technology conducted extensive research and testing for a new set of tools to improve this aspect of litter management.
This was a partnership between the Victorian Litter Action Alliance and Sustainability Victoria, with the direct involvement of local government and land management operators.
The result is the Local Litter Measurement Toolkit (LLMT), and a program of useability testing with local governments during 2013, especially the recipients of roadside litter grants.
The toolkit represents a leap forward for litter prevention operators, standardising data collection protocols across Victoria, and radically reducing the amount of time and resources it takes to do the measuring and analysing.
A quick guide to the toolkit is being prepared at the moment, available early in 2013 to whet your appetite.
Magic ruled out as litter prevention tactic
Lauren the Litter Fairy
The Port Phillip EcoCentre's hunt for a Litter Fairy to coach kids to be best friends with Port Phillip Bay has come up with the goods. Lauren the Litter Fairy is set to reveal an important truth about litter.
The ukulele strumming, hoop twirling and singing Litter Fairy is an educator par excellence, demonstrating in graphic detail that litter doesn't magically disappear with the wave of a wand.
Finding an experienced and dedicated Litter Fairy wasn't easy.
The job advertisement highlighted a few essential attributes, such as:
- A good knowledge of local litter facts.
- Being able to communicate these facts with a quirky good humour.
- Must be in possession of an eye-catching costume.
- Must also have a wand.
Neil Blake, Baykeeper at the Port Phillip EcoCentre, said that humour and performance as a positive fun way to connect with kids in their formative years.
"I'm so happy that our search found Lauren." Neil says.
"She is passionate about the subject, having spent 18 months working on litter reduction in Bali, multi-talented; and very knowledgeable about the impacts of litter on beach amenity and the marine environment. Kids are going to love her routine, and learn from her."
This 'specialist educator' role is funded through the Yarra-Birrarung Plume Project, which raises local awareness about community action being taken to protect Port Phillip Bay.
As a matter of risk management, staff at the EcoCentre have run functionality tests on Lauren's wand, and indeed it does not make litter disappear.
Contact: Neil Blake, (03) 9534 0670.
Meet Jacqui Iliff - Kingston's Litter Prevention Officer
Jacqui Iliff - Kingston Council’s Litter Prevention Officer
With a few decades in waste education under her belt, Jacqui Iliff was recently appointed Litter Prevention Officer (LPO) for the City of Kingston.
Waste and litter may go hand in hand, but a specific focus on litter is not always a given. This is one of the reasons the EPA funded Litter Prevention Officer program was introduced - so that councils could bolster their resources in this respect.
Jacqui Iliff has spent much of her professional life on the consultancy and contracting side of waste management. In fact, her path to Kingston's LPO position grew from a contracted position in Kingston's waste education area.
Litter priorities
Jacqui says, "The LPO role is a little different from earlier ones I've had, in that it focuses specifically on litter and illegal dumping."
"Kingston has two main problem areas, that of dumping of furniture near multi dwelling units (MUDs), and illegal dumping in areas of low public visibility, such as industrial areas and the 'green wedge'."
"Dumping around MUDs is a frequent source of complaint from the community, and due to the large tracts of land Kingston has, there are many locations a person could dump materials and feel relatively safe from detection."
"The council is fully committed to tackling these problems, but the truth is we haven't found an ideal solution yet, especially with regard to green wedge dumping."
The team
The LPO position sits within Kingston's Statutory Education and Compliance department, working closely with Local Laws officers.
Jacqui has two key colleagues to work with though - that of the Environmental Planning department's Environmental Education Officer, and a part time Waste Education Officer on the Waste and Infrastructure department.
"Although we three work on different projects, there's clearly a lot of overlap and our skills as educators and behaviour change agents give us a lot of common ground. It's good to know I'm not alone."
"Further down the track we also aim to establish a litter taskforce at Kingston, but first we need to come up with a strategy and prospective tactics."
Laying foundations
Jacqui is on a tight timeline, since funding for the LPO position runs out in September 2013.
"Really, my task is to develop evidence based solutions which can change behaviours, primarily through education and raising awareness about how the community can help and be part of the solution, "Jacqui says.
"Kingston acknowledges the value of dedicating resources to litter prevention, so another objective of mine will be to develop a business case for continuing the Litter Prevention Officer position after the EPA's program has ended. That will also mean a strategy and action plan in place by September so that if the proposal is successful this person has a running start."
In the meantime, Jacqui is looking forward to Clean Up Australia Day next year. As she says, "You can't beat a major community event as an opportunity to get the litter prevention message across."
Welcome back Stan
Stan Vermeeren - educator, engagement agent and a catchment coordinator.
Stan Vermeeren's recent appointment as program coordinator for the Lower Yarra Litter Strategy brings a trooper of the waste management fraternity back to Victoria.
If you were in the litter and waste management sector in the late 1990's, you may remember Stan Vermeeren as one of Victoria's inaugural Regional Environmental Officers with the Northern Region Waste Management Group.
Since then, Stan has plied his skills as an educator, capacity builder and all round engagement agent, most recently as Manager of Green Skills at the Centre for Sustainable Living in Denmark, Western Australia, and in 2009 as a part-timer at the Metropolitan Waste Management Group coordinating the Metro Litter Program.
A catchment coordinator
The Lower Yarra Litter Strategy (LYLS) started in 2005 to engage local governments and traders to reduce litter and pollution within the Lower Yarra catchment area, and improve the quality of water entering the Yarra River and Port Phillip Bay.
Stan says that the program had a number of successes along the way, but if anything held it back it was the lack of a dedicated coordinator.
"Creation of the coordinator's position is a milestone for LYLS."
"Although the program has been well supported by the Victorian Government and the councils taking part, it involves multiple municipalities and requires a high degree of coordination between the authorities and with members of their respective communities."
Collaboration
Stan will be building on LYLS's model with five downstream councils - Port Phillip, Yarra, Stonnington, Boroondara and Melbourne.
Stan explains, "Our agenda is quite simple - we want to demonstrate what best practice looks like when councils either side of a waterway, or sharing the same water catchment, cooperate to mitigate litter and water pollution through educating and engaging with the community."
"LYLS has a head start, but there's a lot to do and new initiatives to roll out."
"Although reducing litter is the ultimate goal, to get there we need to maintain momentum with our partner councils, grow support amongst executives and those responsible for litter prevention budgets, and expand our resources together."
Engagement agent
Stan's original career as a teacher is bound to be of benefit, though he won't be using a stick.
"Once we've identified about 150 food and shopping strip businesses, we will write to them about LYLS, and then I'll be going out to each with respective council officers, to talk about the issue and do some fact finding. Never underestimate the value of local knowledge about hotspots and littering incidence!"
LYLS's key messages are intended to make the link between a business's litter and waste management practices and the flow of water from their localities.
Stan adds, "We'll also be seeking operators' ideas on what we can do, from improving practices or educating patrons, to being champions themselves, with the council's support."
"I'm pretty passionate about capacity building, and have spent most of my working life in that area," Stan says.
"You can't avoid litter, but you can do a lot to reduce it. It just takes a strategic and collegiate approach across authorities, with effective tools to see how you're going."
Footnote: LYLS is one of the programs conducting useability testing on the new Local Litter Measurement Toolkit, and Stan will be putting this suite of resources to the test as part of LYLS evaluation. See the toolkit article in this edition of litterALLY.
From beachfront to suburban streets
Port Phillip’s litter warriors marching inland.
The City of Port Phillip's highly effective 'No Cuts, No Butts' campaign is now into its third consecutive summer.
Introduced in 2010 along with a new rule that prevents smoking and glass on Port Phillip's beaches, 'No Cuts, No Butts' uses a range of methods, in particular council rangers roving beaches and streets and engaging with the public about the littering problem.
This is backed up with free events in St Kilda and Port Melbourne over the summer to help raise awareness, including entertainment and free give aways. As in previous years, the local media is right behind the campaign.
Butt ... It ends up in the bay!
To date, beach and foreshore patrons were the prime targets, but for 2012-2013 the campaign is moving into Port Phillip's streets, broadening the message to local traders and residents.
This marks a departure from the earlier focus on beachgoers, though this remains a central part of the campaign.
The adjustment has two reasons.
Firstly, the number of cigarette butts and glass littered on Port Phillip's beaches has halved since 'No Cuts No Butts' started.
Obviously the campaign and the local law are working, and the project has reached an operational milestone - that of a proven methodology for a particular circumstance.
Geographical adjustments
Secondly, this kind of success actually shifts the geographical focus.
Now it's time to tackle storm water litter, especially with regard to cigarette butts, which increase significantly in the summer thanks to crowds.
As there are less butts on the beach because leisure seekers are doing the right thing, presumably many of those found now will have washed up from the Bay, if not gone out to sea beforehand.
A good reason to move the campaign inland.
Poo Power! switched on
Just walking the dog.
What do an anaerobic digester, dogs and park lighting have in common?
Duncan Chew and his two trusty dogs Diesel and Sally are trend setters to say the least.
On Thursday 29 November, Melbourne's first anaerobic methane digester running entirely on dog poo was demonstrated to the public - possibly the first step in lighting up Melbourne's parks at night, with the help of the canine population.
A self starter and the kind of role model we need more of, Duncan came to the realisation a few years ago that it must be possible to do something useful with the average 340 grams of dog poo produced per Australian dog each day.
As Duncan describes on his Poo Power! website, "In 2010, when I was diagnosed with a rare, unexplained cancer, I had the opportunity and time to look into this further. As the owner of two boxers I have been perplexed by the dog owner population who readily scoop their dogs' poo in plastic bags only to send it to landfill."
Duncan thought, "Surely, there must be a better way?" And so the dog poo power project was born.
Dogs for the environment
With this power of purpose, Duncan secured funding from the Australian government's Inspiring Australia grants program "Unlocking Australia's Potential."
He also had enthusiastic guidance and technical support from the auspicing Yarra Energy Foundation and active encouragement from Yarra Council.
The anaerobic methane digester processes dog and other organic waste to create a renewable energy source in the form of biogas. This can then be used to power lighting and even barbeques in dog parks.
It also cuts greenhouse emissions by converting the methane, a significant contributor to global warming, into an energy source.
Next steps
With this milestone under his belt, Duncan is aiming to have container surround designs built for the biogas units, and then encourage their introduction far and wide.
If you're a dog owner with a favourite nearby park, perhaps you should get in touch with your local council and tell them about Poo Power!
Container recycling grants triple their reach
Ararat together - council and community getting better outcomes for beverage container recycling.