SCARBOROUGH MLA Liza Harvey says she will push for a smoking ban at Scarborough Beach and other coastal areas, following a damning report on cigarette litter at WA’s beaches.
The 2009 Rubbish Report, an analysis of the litter collected at last year’s Clean Up Australia Day, found cigarette butts made up nearly 30 per cent of all litter, with beaches and coastal areas among the worst affected.
Ms Harvey said she would meet City of Stirling Mayor David Boothman to discuss the possibility of following the City of Joondalup’s lead and implementing a city-wide beach ban.
“I believe there is widespread community support for banning smoking at beaches,” she said.
“Not only are there concerns about passive smoking, particularly when the beach is busy and the sea breeze is in, but the butts themselves are toxic, particularly for kids.
“As a mother, I remember having to make sure the area around our towels was free of cigarette butts so they didn’t end up in my kids’ mouths.”
The City of Joondalup became the first local government in WA to ban smoking on its beaches, in 2007.
Cr Boothman said the City spent more than $550,000 a year raking and cleaning its beaches to prevent the build-up of litter.
He said the City was not considering banning smoking on any part of its beaches other than policing existing laws preventing smoking in areas between the flags.
“It is not too much to ask people to find a bin, and if patrons can’t find a bin, they are asked to use their common sense and do the responsible thing and take their rubbish with them,” he said.
Trigg resident Ron Edwards said he believed the Rubbish Report figures confirmed Scarborough’s status as “one of the most littered and dirty in Australia”, and called for a beach-wide ban similar to that implemented at the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships from 2007 to 2009.
“Council workers do a great job each day in cleaning up the mess; however, what they and the beach rake cannot clean up are the cigarette butts left by thoughtless smokers,” he said.