How to join in Clean Up Australia Day

Cleaning up your local area can be fun, especially if you do it with a group of mates. Jaya Sgro wants you to join in Clean Up Australia Day on March 3.

Jaya Sgro is ready for Clean Up Australia Day. Picture: Dominika Lis

SIX-year old Jaya Sgro is angry. Not because she was denied a lolly or screen time, but because she’s frustrated by the amount of rubbish littering her favourite playground.

“We have to keep our environment clean so the animals don’t eat the rubbish,” the Warner youngster says.

“Playgrounds aren’t a big rubbish bin. They are beautiful and fun and for children to play in.”

So on March 3, Jaya will join thousands of residents in the nation’s biggest working bee — Clean Up Australia Day 2019.

Last year volunteers collected 19.6 tonnes of litter from local parks, beaches and creeks; about a third of which was recycled.

Mayor Allan Sutherland is hoping to break that record in 2019.

“Governments can only do so much in terms of prosecuting litterers and legislating to protect our environment,” Cr Sutherland says.

“The real environmental improvements come when individuals and households take a leadership role at the grassroots level to drive the changes we need to make.

“You don’t need a crystal ball to see what our future could look like if we didn’t care for our environment.

“You only have to listen to young residents like Jaya to understand that if we don’t start looking after the health of our environment now, then future generations are going to suffer.”

COPYRIGHT WARNING for Moreton Life ONLY. Phone Kylie Knight 3480 8226. Clean Up Australia Day preview pics.

Cr Sutherland says the region is home to a range of incredible community groups who do great work for our environment, but he adds each of us can do more.

“Great results happen when there’s a collective effort to make a positive change,” he says. “Council has been a vocal supporter of the State Government’s plastic bag ban and we were the first council in South East Queensland to ban plastic straws.

“The oyster shell recycling project in Ningi has helped to restore lost reefs to the Pumicestone Passage.”

Cr Sutherland hopes to see every community in the Moreton Bay Region involved in Clean Up Australia Day activities this year.

“Nine sites are already registered for Clean-Up Australia Day events and you can nominate more sites for a clean up by heading to the website,” he says.

“But the key to success is convincing friends and family to get involved with you.

“Last year alone Moreton Bay Region residents helped recycle more than 34,000 tonnes of kerbside waste and more than 1600 tonnes of reusable items were sold at council’s treasure markets, saving vital resources from ending up in landfill.”

For more information on how to register, visit cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/join-a-clean-up or moretonbay.qld.gov.au/cleanup/