The Ocean Grove Coastcare (OGCC) team is working with Barwon Coast to deliver the new ‘Bin the Butt’ project.
In 2020 OGCC engaged with Barwon Coast and the City of Greater Geelong prior to successfully applying for a DELWP/Coastcare grant to trial the use of cigarette butt bins in key coastal locations.
Data collected by OGCC and Barwon Coast determined the sites for installation of purpose built
cigarette butt bin receptacles at:
Guthridge St car park Ocean Grove – small craft boat ramp and main boat ramp
Terraced grass area pathway 15W Ocean Grove main beach
Rotunda – 14W Ocean Grove
Barwon Bluff walking track 27W Barwon Heads
“Butt litter data collection from these sites started weeks prior to the bin installation, with volunteers collecting data monthly,” OGCC president Margot Busch said.
“The cigarette butt bins were installed without signage to determine if visibility of them was a factor in their use. We are now applying colourful signs to the bins, and monitoring will continue until November to assess their effectiveness in behavioural change.”
The signage being applied to the bins has local relevance, aiming to keep toxic chemicals and plastics out of the coastal and marine environment. The signage promotes a local seabird, the Australasian gannet, one of the ‘hero species’ fauna from a campaign devised by the Bellarine Catchment Network.
In addition to the public cigarette bins, OGCC will also be funding the purchasing of small personal butt bins that will be distributed at local events.
This initiative was funded by a DELWP Coastcare Victoria Community Grant.
To find out more about the impacts your cigarette butt is having on the terrestrial and aquatic
environments, go to cleanup.org.au/cigarette-butts
