On the 6th of March 2022, we celebrate Clean Up Australia Day. The message behind this day is to encourage our communities to clean up and conserve our environment. Over 19 million Australians have been involved with Clean Up Australia Day over the past 32 years. This day is now recognised as the nation’s largest community-based environmental event, which started from just one Australian bloke, Ian Kiernan, wanting to make a difference in his own backyard.
As well as physically cleaning up our environment, the purpose of this day is also to provide practical solutions to live sustainably as the years go on. The focus is now not only to remove any waste, but to also prevent this waste from accumulating in the first place. Ways we can do this include saying no to plastic bags at supermarkets and not using single use items, such as life takeaway coffee cups.
Below are some stats from Clean Up Australia Day in 2020 and since 1990.
Estimated volunteers – (2020) 683,242 (since 1990) 18,000,000 Estimated ute loads removed – (2020) 17,086 (since 1990) 380,000 Estimated hours of volunteering – (2020) 1,366,484 (since 1990) 36,000,000How can you be involved? You can be involved as a Community Member, School, Business, Youth Group, or a Council, by either registering for a new one, or joining an existing one. This year’s Clean Up may look a little different due to Covid-19, however you can still be involved, by abiding by our local area’s regulations.