2009 Media Releases
Get Involved this Clean Up Australia Day
17 February 2009
Don your gloves, grab your garbage bags and gear yourself to gather Willoughby’s garbage at Clean Up Australia Day 2009. The event is the perfect time to get out and lend a hand to clean up your local environment on Sunday 1 March.
Residents can register their own site or join an existing registered site within the Willoughby City Council area such as Lane Cove National Park, Blue Gum Park, Muston Park, Chatswood Park, Sailors Bay Creek or Scotts Creek.
Clean Up Australia Day began as Clean Up Sydney Harbour Day in 1989 when an ‘average Australian bloke’ had the goal of cleaning up his backyard – Sydney Harbour. More than 40 000 Sydneysiders turned up to lend a hand.
20 years on, Clean Up Australia Day is Australia’s largest community based environmental event. Last year more than 800 000 people volunteered to clean up their local parks, waterways, beaches, bushland and suburbs, removing an amazing 7 000 tonnes of rubbish.
In 2008, volunteers at Willoughby’s Scotts Creek site collected ten wheelie bins of waste, 20 per cent of which was recyclable material.
Clean Up Australia Chairman and Founder Ian Kiernan AO is asking residents to look carefully at the types of rubbish they are sending to their local landfill and consider if they could recycle or reuse it instead.
“Australians are pretty good at recycling but half the rubbish we produce is still heading to landfill, which we are fast running out of space for, or it is being dumped into our natural environment,” said Mr Kiernan.
“Paper, cardboard, metal and most types of plastic can be recycled, while particularly disused building materials can also be reused. Waste can be easily turned into a valuable resource,” he said.
Willoughby Mayor Pat Reilly said we can all play a part by considering what can be recycled in our everyday waste throughout the year.
“I urge all our local businesses, schools and residents to sign up and get involved, and to keep the Clean Up Australia message in mind every day,” he said.
“Clean Up Australia Day has become one of the biggest events on the calendar where we can all lend a hand and clean up our local environment, especially around Willoughby’s creeks, bays and harbour,” he said.
Clean Up Australia will also run Business Clean Up Day on Tuesday 24 February. Businesses are asked to commit to waste reduction measures in their offices, or engage with their local community as part of a Clean Up in a local environmental hotspot. Research conducted for Clean Up Australia by the Carbon Reduction Institute has found that if an office halved its waste from two wheelie bins to one each week, it would save more than four tonnes or 2 100 wheelie bins of greenhouse gas emissions.
Schools Clean Up Day is on Friday 27 February which is a great way for students to learn how to reduce the impact of waste on the environment and make a real difference to their local community.
Volunteers interested in participating in the Clean Up event on 1 March can turn up at the registered sites with gloves, a hat, sturdy shoes, sunglasses and sunscreen.
Residents can register their involvement at www.cleanup.org.au or for more information about Willoughby’s registered sites phone Willoughby City Council on 9777 1000.
Why we should Clean Up Australia:
- Australians generate almost 32 million tonnes of rubbish each year which equates to about 1.5 tonnes per person.
- We are the second highest producers of waste per person in the world.
- Around half of the waste going to landfill in Australia is recyclable material.
- Dumped rubbish can leach contaminates into our bushland.
- Even though recycling and reuse rates are improving, the amount of waste each Australian generates is increasing due to an increase in packaging and disposable products.
- More than three million tonnes of glass, paper, metals and plastics is being sent to landfill each year in Australia but could easily be recycled.
Information provided by Clean Up Australia.
Media Contact
Media and Marketing Group Manager
Phone: 9777 7703
Mobile: 0421 492 757
Email: rebecca.hill@willoughby.nsw.gov.au