The increase in takeaway food and drinks through the pandemic has also brought about an increase in litter, according to Toronto Sustainable Neighbourhood Group's Steve Dewar.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"We ourselves noticed it," Mr Dewar said.
"And we're affiliated with the boomerang bag alliance, who had done some surveys and found the same thing."
So the group, along with several others involved in the Lake Macquarie Sustainable Neighbourhood Alliance decided to get together and do something about it.
A city-wide clean up was organised for last Sunday, August 9 through Lake Macquarie City Council's Eco Angel Program.
Volunteers spread out across five locations including Charlestown-Whitebridge, Pelican, Rathmines, Speers Point-Boolaroo and Toronto to tidy up public spaces, with a cap on the number at each place to comply with COVID-19 restrictions.
"There was quite a lot of rubbish," Mr Dewar said. "More than we realised.
"At the location I was at we collected 25 bags plus discarded furniture."
Mr Dewar said as well as beautifying the public spaces, the event was also about making people aware about the issue of litter.
"We had a big banner along a major road highlighting the problem of takeaway rubbish," he said.
Mr Dewar said he hoped the effort would lead to people taking more pride in the tidied up areas when they went to visit.
"There's a lot of evidence that when a site is clean, people are less likely to litter again," he said.
"Otherwise, if they see other people's rubbish, they think 'what the heck' and toss theirs as well."
IN OTHER NEWS:
The initiative was the latest in a number of litter reduction projects the sustainable neighbourhood group has been involved in over the years.
The group surveyed 60 local cafes in an effort to phase out the use of disposable cups.
They also handed out 600 reusable coffee cups as well as metal straws to members of the community.
"We've been on a bit of a track about single use plastic," Mr Dewar said.
"Single use plastic is polluting our environment.
"When it's littered, it ends up in the lake which goes into the ocean and affects the creatures in it."
The group also helped to install more bins in the Toronto area and ran a campaign with high school kids, who created signs encouraging people to dispose of fast food rubbish correctly.
Mr Dewar said the driving force behind the group's efforts was wanting to create a better place for the residents who lived there.
"It all makes a very strong community and brings people together," he said.
Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
