Clean Up Australia Day is Fast Approaching

Change starts with you! There has never been a better time to take to our streets as Queensland still has a way to go to conquer its rubbish problems according to latest rubbish report.

Clean Up Australia is a not for profit community based organisation founded by Ian Kiernan AO in 1989 to inspire and work with communities to clean up, fix up and conserve our environment.

Clean Up Australia is dedicated to developing sustainable solutions and addressing the critical issues that face us in the areas of waste, degrading waterways and landscapes. It provides a practical framework and support for all individuals to make a positive and effective contribution to the health of our environment.

For 30 years Australians have joined together to Clean Up Australia. During this time over 16 million Australians have donated more than 33 million hours, removing the equivalent of 350,000 ute-loads of rubbish from more than 178 thousand locations across the country.

Since 1993 millions of people around the globe have also heeded the call under the banner of Clean Up the World, the global initiative the United Nations asked Kiernan to create and oversee. This year-round campaign engages an estimated 35 million volunteers in 130 countries annually, making it the largest community-based environmental campaign in the world.

The 2018 Clean Up Australia Rubbish Report, compiled each year from data submitted by Queensland Clean Up volunteers, found that although there was improvement in many areas, food packaging was reported in higher quantities than the national average.

Plastic continues to be the #1 type of rubbish reported across the state.

Terrie-Ann Johnson, Managing Director of Clean Up Australia, warns that plastic – a material type which will not decompose, will, unless we take action today, continue to impact our environment, our natural heritage and ultimately human health.

Thirty years ago, Ian Kiernan AO predicted the problems that single-use plastics would pose. Since then we have seen ever-increasing dependence on plastic as a throw-away item – and that needs to change. The choice is simple, take action or plastics will continue to be a problem well into the future,” said Terrie-Ann.

The 2018 Report directly supports the need for us all to think about how we can switch from single use packaging.

Food packaging, as a percentage of all rubbish reported by Queensland clean up volunteers increased by 14.6% in 2018.

Comprising take away containers, food, chip & confectionery wrappers – this trend is alarming because it outstrips the national counts by nearly 10%.

“Change starts with you – and we need to make smarter choices every day.” said Terrie-Ann.

“We need to reduce the amount of rubbish we produce as individuals and take simple actions such as carrying our reusable bags, replacing single use beverage cups and choosing products that are not over packaged.”

Smokers also need to get smarter with cigarette butts coming up as the item most counted by Clean Up volunteers at 13.5% of the individual item count. While a welcome decrease of

19.6% over the previous year, it’s timely to remind smokers how cigarette butts impact our environment.

“Smokers need to understand that the core of most cigarette filters is a form of plastic called cellulose acetate which is very slow to degrade, taking anything from 18 months to 10 years to break up. These filters are also full of toxins, which can leach into the ground and waterways, damaging living organisms that come into contact with them,” said Terrie-Ann.

“We all need to take responsibility for our choices.”

Parks were the most popular site surveyed in 2018, also recording the highest percentage of total waste. Non-identified sites yielded the highest average number of items across the state, closely followed by outdoor transport areas.

“We still have a way to go to Clean Up Australia, so remember change starts with you!”

To register or join a 2019 Clean Up site go to: http://cleanupaustraliaday.org.au