Rubbish spoils Tassie road trips

THE state government and Tourism Industry Council launched the T21 Visitor Economy Action Plan to “shape the pathway to recovery and restore the value of tourism to our economy and for the benefit of our community”. The first priority is rebuilding visitation and this includes drive holidays and road trips. The initial step would be to “launch a compelling program to position Tasmania as the leading road trip destination”.

No mention is made of the disgusting state of our litter-strewn roadsides. Not a good look for rebuilding visitation. The state government committed to a container refund scheme by 2022, with a target of being the tidiest state by 2023. The scheme would apply to beer, carbonated soft drinks, juice and water containers but with exclusions. These containers account for about 40 per cent of litter, so this leaves 60 per cent to finds its way to roadside verges and elsewhere. Traditionally it has been left to state and local governments to fund clean-ups along with volunteers.

It seems to me the cost should rest with three groups, companies that make the rubbish, companies that sell their products in the rubbish and ignorant people who discard rubbish. It should not be beyond us to devise a scheme to mandate this. In time, one would hope, they might realise it is in their financial interests to stop treating our roadsides as a free disposal system. Tasmania might then have a chance of becoming the tidiest state by 2023.

Michael Lynch

Taroona