From left to right, Mornington Peninsula Shire Councillor Kerri McCafferty, Mayor Despi O’Connor, Cr Lisa Dixon Cr Antonella Celi, Lyn Dawes and Martin Dawes from Safety Beach/Dromana Beach Patrol and Cr Debra Mar. Photo: Supplied, prior to COVID-19 restrictions.
Mornington Peninsula Shire, together with local beach patrol, community groups and Peninsula Health, is working hard to make the Peninsula happier, healthier and smoke free.
Cigarette butts are made of plastics which can take up to 10 years to decompose. This year to reduce butt litter in the environment and encourage residents and visitors not to smoke in public areas, we’ll be trialling smoke free areas throughout the Peninsula.
Locations include:
- Safety Beach Foreshore
- Mount Eliza Foreshore
- Rye Foreshore
- Shire offices in Mornington, Hastings and Rosebud
- Civic Reserve in Mornington
- Point Leo Foreshore (Committee of Management)
Smoke free zones will be clearly marked with signage urging people to butt out before entering. Where possible, butt bins or litter bins will be placed at the entrances of the zones.
Beach patrol, community groups and user groups will help the Shire monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the smoke free zones.
The trial will run from May 2021 for a period of six months.
The Shire will be evaluating the trial using butt litter data and community and beach patrol group feedback.
This trial has been made possible due to a combined effort with Mornington Peninsula Shire, Peninsula Health, Safety Beach/Dromana Beach Patrol, Wastewise Peninsula, Belgravia Leisure, Civic Reserve user groups, Josie Jones from The Only Butt campaign, and Point Leo Foreshore Committee.
This is part of the Council’s Mornington Peninsula Smoke Free Environment Policy.
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