Department ofEnvironment andConservation (NSW)

Project descriptionThe 2002 Don’t be a Tosser campaign was the second phase of a three-yearLitter Prevention Campaign. The campaign was on air (radio and TV) for fourweeks in January 2002, with outdoor elements (taxi backs and billboards)extending into February 2002.

The campaign focused on littering from vehicles - a common littering behaviourin NSW accounting for 62% of all litter fines issued in the first year of the newlitter laws. It first ran over the summer holidays, when many people travel in theircars to holiday destinations. The campaign reinforced awareness about litteringfines and encouraged people not to litter from vehicles. It reinforced the conceptbehind the notion of personal responsibility inherent in Litter, it’s in your handsand introduced the term ‘tosser’ as a social sanction that could beapplied to those who litter.

Project rationaleLittering is one of the most visible andpersistent environmental issues facingNSW and costs the community millionsof dollars every year to clean up andrepair the damage it causes. Stateagencies and local councils put asubstantial amount of resources indealing with litter. For example, theSydney Coastal Councils Group,representing 16 councils, estimatedthat local councils spend an average$3.3 million a year to deal with theeffects of littering.

The aims of the campaign were:· To raise awareness of litter’s impact

on the environment and encouragea sense of personal responsibilityamong NSW residents to disposeof their litter properly.

· To develop awareness of the $200fine for littering from vehicles andgenerate a high perceived risk ofbeing fined.

education

CASE STUDY Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW )

Litter prevention campaign 2002Don’t be a tosser

Project fundingThe 2002 Litter Prevention Programreceived $2,395,000 from the NSWWaste Minimisation and ManagementFund. Of this amount, $1,200,000was spent on the 2002 Don’t be aTosser mass media campaign.

Project stakeholdersLocal CouncilsLocal CouncilsLocal CouncilsLocal CouncilsLocal Councils

Given that local councils issue the bulkof littering fines and conduct localeducation programs, the involvementof local government has been animportant focus of the then EPA’sDon’t be a Tosser campaign.

The then EPA developed a local councilengagement strategy alongside themainstream advertising campaign,and local councils have been verypositive about the Don’t be a Tossercampaign. Over 70 councils joinedthe campaign by conducting educationand enforcement blitzes in their localarea and through picking up the localcampaign resource kit.

A hard copy kit of resources (including bumperstickers, posters, bin stickers and Don’t be a Tosserbranded film canisters for personal ashtray use) anda campaign booklet with 2 CD’s of artwork wasdistributed to councils across NSW in early March2002. The then EPA produced a number of litterblitz roadside banners, which were shared aroundcouncils in NSW as they conducted their localenforcement blitzes. Thirty local projects were alsofunded under a Council Grants Program.

Community GroupsCommunity GroupsCommunity GroupsCommunity GroupsCommunity Groups

The then EPA also worked closely with communityorganisations like Keep Australia Beautiful and CleanUp Australia on local community litter preventionprojects. Clean Up Australia administered a grantsprogram for litter prevention projects in schools anddeveloped a litter prevention on beaches project,called Leave only footprints, with South CoastCouncils. Keep Australia Beautiful administered 37grants to local community organisations for locallitter prevention projects.

Litter Reference GroupLitter Reference GroupLitter Reference GroupLitter Reference GroupLitter Reference Group

The EPA formed the NSW Litter PreventionReference Group comprising of stakeholders withan interest in or responsibility for litter reduction.The group met on average, once every six weeks todiscuss program direction, campaign concepts andstrategies, litter research and the involvement ofcouncils, State agencies, community and otherstakeholder groups in litter prevention activities.

The Reference Group, co-chaired by the then EPAand Resource NSW, comprises of representativesfrom the Beverage Industry Environment Council,Keep Australia Beautiful, Clean Up Australia,Resource NSW, the EPA, local government, theRoadside Litter Environment Committee, the Roadsand Traffic Authority and the Rail InfrastructureCorporation.

Project targetsThere is no known differentiation of litteringbehaviours according to age, gender, location orother demographic criteria. The campaign targetsall people who travel in vehicles across roads in NSW,including:· People who do not litter (and people who collect

other people’s litter) by reinforcing their positivebehaviour and providing ways for them to speakout about littering.

· People who do litter but could be influenced tochange their behaviour through understanding

of effects of litter on the environment, the socialstigma attached to littering or through the threatof penalties.

Project methodsThe Don’t be a Tosser mass media campaign usedradio and TV advertisements, roadside billboardsand taxi back advertisements to get the anti-littermessage to target audiences. An NESB campaignwas also developed (radio and press ads), target-ing six community languages. These were Italian,Greek, Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese and Chinese.

Roadside billboards were placed along majorhighways on the NSW coast were aimed at reachingdrivers travelling to summer holiday destinations.Taxi backs were used to target motorists doing shorttrips in metropolitan areas.

The awareness raising required for this programcould not be achieved without the use of massmedia. The use of a strategic mix of media(television, radio, press, outdoor and Internet) wasvital to effectively reaching large numbers of peoplefrom diverse backgrounds across NSW.

Project resources· A 1 x 30 second television advertisement

statewide; 4 x 30 second radio ads statewide;billboards on coastal highways, and taxi backadvertising (2 executions) in Sydney, Newcastle,and Wollongong;

· A multicultural press and radio campaign in sixcommunity languages (Italian, Arabic, Greek,Chinese, Vietnamese and Spanish);

· A suite of resource materials to support littereducation including a comprehensive localcouncil campaign kit distributed to 173 localcouncils, and placed on the EPA website;

· Council grants program funding 30 local litterprevention projects;

· Extensive media coverage of the litter issue as aresult of a publicity and promotions strategy;

· Development of community education resourcesthrough Clean Up Australia and KeepAustralia Beautiful including the developmentof the Leave Only Footprints campaign,Schools Litter Prevention Projects and CommunityGrants program;

· An independent evaluation of the advertisingcampaign [available from the Department ofEnvironment and Conservation NSW].

Printed on recycled paper

Department of Environmentand Conservation (NSW)

Sustainability Programs Division

Level 2, 1 Fitzwilliam StParramatta NSW 2150Phone: 02 88376000

Fax: 02 8837 6099 info@environment.nsw.gov.au

www.environment.nsw.gov.au

For moreinformation

See www.epa.nsw.gov.au/litter/council_kit

Or contactSusan Everingham

Phone 02 9995 5351

Disclaimer

The Department of Environment andConservation (NSW) has developed thisfact sheet for educational purposes andhas made all reasonable endeavoursto ensure that the contents of this factsheet are factual and free of error. TheDepartment shall not be liable for anydamage or loss, which may occur inrelation to any person taking action ornot on the basis of this fact sheet.

How the project was evaluatedThe success of the project was measured using pre and post campaigntelephone surveys of 800 residents across NSW. The research was conductedby independent Market Research company, Taverner Research

Project outcomes

Changes in...Changes in...Changes in...Changes in...Changes in...

Knowledge/awareness

Attitudes/motivation

Behaviour

Qualitative or quantitative data indicating changeQualitative or quantitative data indicating changeQualitative or quantitative data indicating changeQualitative or quantitative data indicating changeQualitative or quantitative data indicating change

Don’t be a Tosser has proved to be one of the most successfuleducation campaigns conducted by the EPA. An independentevaluation by Taverner Research found the campaign had significantcut-through with its target audience. Key findings include:· the majority of people surveyed (57%) could recall verbatim,

and unaided, the Don’t be a Tosser message;

· 80% of people recalled seeing the advertisement when prompted;

· 81% of people who saw the TV advertisement thought it wasconvincing; and

· half (49%) of the people who saw the TV advertisement said itencouraged them to act in ways to avoid or reduce littering.

There was strong support for the social sanction message withsolid anecdotal evidence about its use in everyday language.Feedback suggests the term ‘tosser’ is now commonly used todescribe litterers. EPA staff, stakeholders and the community atlarge have reported hearing community members call litterers‘tossers’, and in some cases the offending person has respondedby picking up the litter and finding a bin.

There were also some positive shifts in self-reported behavioursbefore and after the campaign. For example, twice as many peoplereported that they had not thrown rubbish from their cars, in thefour weeks after the campaign, than before it (up from 44% to81%). At the same time, the number of people who said theybelieved littering from cars was not relevant to them decreasedfrom 51% to 15%.

Environmental outcomesAn independent national litter index study (conducted by Community Change,Victoria for the Beverage Industry Environment Council) showed that Sydneywas the only capital city where the amount of litter produced had fallen in thetwo years in 2001 and 2002.

How will the outcomes/ learning be maintained/reinforced?The then EPA and Resource NSW were allocated a further $2,245,000($1,200,000 for mass media component) from the Waste Fund to conductanother Don’t be a Tosser litter prevention campaign in June/July 2003. Thiscampaign targets general litter and small illegal dumping items in public places.

Councils are continuing to conduct local programs. Fines are continuing to beused and educational publicity about their use is ongoing.

DEC 2005/34