A combined blitz has picked up thousands of cigarette pbutts from Shoalhaven Street near the hospital.
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Shoalhaven City Council's rangers combined with the Riverwatch community group and Illawarra Shoalhaven Joint Organisation (ISJO) to take on the litter scourge.
Shoalhaven Mayor Amanda Findley said she was delighted with the combined efforts of community volunteers, rangers and ISJO.
"The group cleaned up approximately 5000 cigarette butts which may have otherwise ended up in our beautiful Shoalhaven River," she said.
"Being little and lightweight, cigarette butts are easily carried into our waterways. Littered butts leach toxins as they decompose, contributing to soil and water pollution and impacting on wildlife. Cigarette filters, which are primarily made of plastic, also wreak havoc on the marine environment."
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This is one of the final steps of a project rolled out over the past few months which has seen Shoalhaven City Council complete 'Cigarette Butt Litter Checks' to obtain necessary data to secure funding for four cigarette butt litter receptacles and pathway decals.
These have been installed already (two on Scenic Drive and two on Shoalhaven Street) and council continues to monitor their usage and conduct surveys of nearby smokers to gather further data.
Rangers plan to have two of the four receptacles relocated to better capture surrounding foot traffic and promote usage.
The cigarette butt litter campaign and clean-ups will continue over summer.
