Share this:
2010 marks 20 years since Ian Kiernan AO launched Clean Up Australia Day nationwide, urging people to make a difference by cleaning up their local areas for a couple of hours. Since then, Ian’s simple idea has evolved into Australia’s largest community-based environmental event and has also become recognized on a global scale with the launch of Clean Up the World in 1993.
“It’s been an amazing 20 years and we’re aiming to make 2010 Clean Up Australia Day’s biggest year yet. Communities have been able to achieve so much, so there’s a lot to celebrate as we look forward to the next 20 years and plan for the future,” said Ian Kiernan.
In the past 20 years volunteers have spent over 24 million hours Cleaning Up Australia and cleaned up almost 130,000 registered sites. Plastic has been the most common category of rubbish, with chips/confectionery wrappers, bottle caps and drink containers the most common items found. Cigarette butts have remained at the top of the rubbish list, with glass alcoholic beverage bottles consistently ranking as the 2nd most commonly removed item. Outdoor transport sites, like bus stops and train platforms, have been the most polluted areas with beach/coastal sites coming in second.
Most unusual items cleaned up in the past 20 years:
- Bound and gagged garden gnome
- Mannequin’s leg
- Parking meter
- Leopard print lounge suite
- Glass eye
- A rubber snake
- Waterbed
- Locked cash boxes
- Unopened Christmas presents
- Beer bottles from 1938
- Half a boat
You can get involved in Clean Up Australia Day 2010 by getting a group together and register your chosen Clean Up site online or simply join as an individual volunteer.
Clean Up Dates for 2010:
- Clean Up Australia Day – Sunday 7 March
- Business Clean Up Day – Tuesday 2 March
- Schools Clean Up Day – Friday 5 March
If you’re not able to participate on Clean Up days, you can also get involved by making a donation which will help sustain Clean Up Australia’s work throughout the year helping communities with a wide range of environmental projects and tools.
For more information on how to register for Clean Up or make a donation, head over to www.cleanup.org.au or call 1800 282 329.