This year marks the 30th anniversary of Clean Up Australia Day, Australia’s largest communitybased mobilisation event, with more than 680,000 volunteers removing over 15,000 ute loads of rubbish from the 6901 registered locations across the country last year.

Held each year on the first Sunday in March, Clean Up Australia Day has three days scheduled in the 2020 calendar.

Business Clean Up Day (Tuesday 25 February), Schools Clean Up Day (Friday 28 February) and Clean Up Australia Day (Sunday 1 March) will take place across the Gladstone Region.

Council crews will offer community support by providing skip bins at key locations for residents to place their Clean Up Australia Day rubbish bags including:

• Memorial Park, Yarroon Street, Gladstone
• Wyndham Park, Boyne Island
• Miriam Vale State School carpark, Miriam Vale
• Bunting Park, Archer Street, Calliope.

Those skip bins will be in operation from Friday 28 February until Monday 2 March. Businesses participating in the Business Clean Up Day will be able to dispose of their rubbish free of charge, providing it’s enclosed in a branded Clean Up Australia Day bag, at the Benaraby Landfill, Gladstone Transfer Station or Agnes Water Transfer Station until Friday 28 February.

Gladstone Region Councillor Desley O’Grady encouraged the community to take part in one or more of the Clean Up Australia Day 2020 events.

“We are calling on Gladstone Region residents to step up to clean up and join us on Sunday 1 March to collect as much waste as we can before it causes harm,” Cr O’Grady said.

“Connecting with your business, school, as an individual or with friends and family on Clean Up Australia Day not only has environmental benefits but provides a social outing within the region’s many communities.

“Clean Up Australia Day helps foster community pride while contributing to a healthy environment.

“Waste management is a community effort and days like these allow an opportunity for all residents to contribute to protecting the environment.”

Last year’s Clean Up Australia Day saw 39 registered sites in the Gladstone Region, including 12 schools, and Cr O’Grady challenged residents to increase participation in 2020.

“We’d love to see the number of registered sites increase this year so we can connect with more people in the region,” she said.

“Registering clean-up sites or participation in the event needs to be done online at the Clean Up Australia Day website.

“Online registration also ensures the correct insurance covers are in place for participants.”

Clean Up Australia chair Pip Kiernan said Australia creates 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste each year.

Only 12 per cent of this is recycled with the rest ending up in our parks, roadsides, bush, waterways, oceans or in landfill as rubbish.

“For 30 years now we’ve been cleaning up Australia, but Australians are creating more waste than ever, so we need more help,” Ms Kiernan said.

Visit www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au for more information and to register a site for Clean Up Australia Day events in the Gladstone Region

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