04 Mar, 2016

Calling All Volunteers … Clean Up Australia Day 2016

City of Adelaide has been supporting Clean Up Australia Day for 12 years and this year Council is encouraging local residents and visitors to roll up their sleeves, don a hat and a pair of gloves and join the public clean-up on Sunday 6 March from 9am.

This year Council is supporting a new site in the south Park Lands, close to City South and Unley residents at Kurangga (Park 20). It is also easily accessible by public transport and has easy parking.

Everyone gets a certificate of appreciation, a bottle or two of iced cold water and a thank you BBQ lunch hosted by Lord Mayor Martin Haese.

“Each year Clean Up Australia Day fosters a great sense of community pride, and last year was my first as Lord Mayor. I was privileged to roll my sleeves up, get involved and meet some of the wonderful volunteers who help keep Adelaide beautiful,” said Martin.

“We’re so lucky in Adelaide to have the beautiful Park Lands surrounding our CBD which is akin to being the whole community’s big back yard. We really do owe it to ourselves and to future generations to preserve and honour the natural environment so we can all enjoy it long into the future,” he said.

Many groups and individuals view their annual participation in Clean Up Australia Day as a great way of helping Adelaide’s Park Lands, Squares and streets to remain clean and tidy and ultimately enjoyable for everyone.

Tom McCready, Executive Program Manager, Public Realm knows only too well the amount of litter generated by city users each day.

“While most people do the right thing most of the time, we should all understand that the costs of cleaning up irresponsible rubbish disposal are borne by everyone. Some of the funds we allocate to keeping the streets clean could easily be redirected towards other community initiatives if everyone was more mindful of the ways they dispose of their litter,” said Tom.

“We collect an average of four-point-seven tonnes of rubbish from streets, parks and illegal dumping each day, which amounts to almost 4000 tonnes of rubbish in just two years. It’s important that everyone make a conscious effort to dispose of their litter responsibly for all our sakes, people are really doing themselves a disservice when they litter.

“This year we expect to wrap up at noon in response to the extreme weather forecast for Sunday.”

Volunteers for Clean Up Australia Day will be provided gloves, water and sunscreen at the event when they register and need to wear closed toe shoes. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

Groups, including schools and community organisations can pre-register by logging onto www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/Kurrangga+Park+20 or simply turn up on the day and register.