Any survey asking grey nomads what their least favourite thing about taking the Big Lap is, would almost certainly have ‘litter’ right at the top of the list.
While coming across campsites full of broken bottles and discarded packaging is bad enough, or seeing rubbish littering the sides of country highways, there is an even worse aspect to the problem.
With summer on its way and temperatures rising quickly, authorities are issuing urgent warnings about the potentially devastating consequences of disposing of cigarette butts carelessly.
As hard as it is for most grey nomads to believe, this continues to be a huge problem. In South Australia, the Environment Protection Authority says 80% of complaints received through its ‘Dob in a Litterer’ program related to cigarette butts being disposed of incorrectly or flicked from a vehicle.
SA Country Fire Service state duty commander Nik Stanley said road verge vegetation was drying out as the fire danger season approached.
“Discarding lit cigarettes in any area with dry vegetation has the potential to spark a fire and potentially cause devastating consequences,” Mr Stanley said. “There are penalties of up to $5,000 for throwing burning material from a vehicle.”
While the Country Fire Service could not provide figures on how many bushfires were actually caused by cigarettes because the evidence is usually destroyed in a blaze, it says the danger is real … especially with conditions the way they are.
With the fire danger season starting earlier than normal in most areas, the Metropolitan Fire Service community safety and resilience Commander Greg Howard warned that careless disposal of lit cigarettes was putting lives at risk.
“The Metropolitan Fire Service encourages responsible disposal of cigarette butts at all times,” he said. “Including ensuring they are completely extinguished before being disposed of.”
