To start the process of the development, by all stakeholders, of a comprehensive litter prevention strategy the
KABC released a Discussion Paper in July 2003 titled Litter Abatement in Western Australia.
The Discussion Paper summarised a report published in September 2002 for the Municipal Waste Advisory Council,
Litter Management Options in Western Australia, and highlighted the roles and responsibilities of major stakeholders
in litter management, the priority litter streams and described the litter problem in some detail.
A number of recommendations in regards to the establishment of a Taskforce were made in Discussion Paper,
and included the following:
A Taskforce, consisting of senior representatives from key stakeholders, be formed by the KABC to develop a comprehensive Strategy;
The proposed Taskforce assess and include, when practical, the recommendations of the report in the proposed Strategy; and
That the Taskforce estimate the cost and funding options for the litter prevention actions/programs of the proposed Strategy.
The Discussion Paper was released for public comment and a public consultation process commenced shortly after. The public consultation process incorporated a series of workshops and forums, a survey and also called for written submissions.
Six workshops were held throughout metropolitan and regional Western Australia, one of which was via video-conference (connecting to five separate locations - making the total number of locations visited ten). Representatives from numerous State Government agencies, Local Government Authorities, industry and community were invited to attend the workshops. The workshops were structured around four key areas:
Key litter issues and priorities in WA;
Key actions for litter abatement in WA;
Key stakeholders in the development and delivery of a Litter Abatement Strategy for WA, and
Roles and responsibilities of the Litter Abatement Task Force.
After the information from the workshops was collated, it was decided that a Litter Forum should be held to bring together key stakeholders (as identified in the workshops) to identify key litter priorities for the State and discuss the operational requirements, including the resourcing, of these priorities. Rose Read from Eco-Recycle Victoria was invited to address forum participants and share EcoRecycle Victoria's litter policy and operative experiences. Over 40 participants attended the forum including inter-state guests from KESAB Environmental Solutions and the Butt Littering Trust.
Participants at the forum were asked to prioritise the litter actions, as recommended in the workshops, according to four themes - education, enforcement, physical intervention and producer responsibility. The top priority litter actions for each of the four themes (twenty action priorities in total) were discussed in further detail by participants. Discussion revolved around action impediments, solution/s to action impediments, agencies responsible for action, timeframe for actions (short, medium or long-term), estimated action cost including source/s of revenue, and action outcomes.
In addition to the Perth forum, two further forums and a short survey was undertaken to determine the priority litter actions for each of the nine regions in Western Australia (as based upon the development commission boundaries). The two additional forums were held in regions that had not been previously visited by KABC in the consultation process.
