Clean Up Australia Day

Clean Up Australia Limited is a not-for-profit Australian environmental conservation organisation. It is registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

Clean Up Australia Limited has sponsored a yearly Clean Up Australia Day since 1990. On the first Sunday of March each year, groups of citizens clean up rubbish at different sites across the country. According to the organisation, more than a million people participate each year. Clean Up Australia Limited also supports other environmental efforts, including preventing waste in the environment.

History

Clean Up Australia Day was first held in January 1990."Column 8", ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 22 September 1989, p 1 accessed 24 February 2012 via factiva.com (Document smhh000020011117dl9m00tte); "CLEAN Up Australia, which is organising a national clean-up day on January 21, now has 41 groups registered to take part" The idea developed from an Australian Bicentenary event, "Clean-Up Lake Macquarie", which was instigated in 1987 by Ivan Welsh as Mayor of Lake Macquarie. Then followed the local "Clean Up Sydney Harbour" event in 1989, organised by Ian Kiernan and Kim McKay, with more than 40,000 volunteers who collected approximately 5,000 tonnes of rubbish. The 1990 ''Clean Up Australia Day'' event was launched by the then prime minister, Bob Hawke, over the initial opposition of the then state premier, Nick Greiner."PM Shoulders Clean-up Plan", ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 18 September 1989, p 7 accessed 24 February 2012 via factiva.com (Document smhh000020011117dl9i00rvy); "The Prime Minister launched a nation-wide foreshore clean-up program yesterday to help Sydney overcome its beach pollution problems, but the Premier, Mr Greiner, described the plan as a 'publicity campaign'. ... The Prime Minister said the community campaign to clean up the nation's 37,000 kilometres of coastline was a follow-on from last January's Sydney Harbour clean- up, during which 40,000 people collected 5,000 tonnes of rubbish – 4,900 tonnes more than expected." Greiner later reversed his position and offered his support for the event.

"The Rubbish Report" was produced each year from data collected by surveying participants. As of 1990, 94% of rubbish was from packaging. By 1993, the campaign was focusing more strongly on sorting the rubbish collected into recyclables, and Kiernan was using Clean Up Australia Day to advocate for changes to legislation surrounding reduction of packaging and returning packaging to companies. In 1994, over 8,000 sites were cleaned up as part of the day. In 2008, Kiernan put a focus on bottled water, advocating for the expansion of container deposit refunds in Australia.

In 2012, sponsorship cutbacks and a drop in private donations caused the organisation to have to dismiss all of its paid staff.

Clean Up the World

Clean Up the World was established in 1994 after Ian Kiernan and Kim McKay approached the United Nations Environment Programme, with an idea to take his Clean Up concept global.

Clean Up the World is an international campaign that encourages communities to clean up, fix up and conserve their environment through the Clean Up the World Membership program.

A Clean Up the World weekend is held on the third weekend of September each year and, by 2007, the event attracted more than 35 million people from over 120 countries to volunteer.Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin, "Acting locally", ''Sunday Telegraph'' (Sydney, Australia), 16 September 2007, p 8 accessed 24 February 2012 via factiva.com (Document SUNTEL0020070915e39g0007a); "An estimated 35 million people from around 120 countries will participate this weekend in the 15th Clean Up the World campaign, a great Australian export. Established in 1993 by the Clean Up Australia team, the campaign partners Clean Up the World with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), to encourage communities around the globe to take action, improving their environment and limiting the impacts of climate change."

Other campaigns and projects

Business Clean Up Day

Business Clean Up Day provides Australian businesses with an opportunity to contribute to waste reduction and the improvement of the environment.

Businesses register their commitment to implement at least one environment-friendly initiative in their workplace, giving them an opportunity to work as a team and make a difference to their local environment.

Schools Clean Up Day

Schools Clean Up Day is designed to allow students to participate in Clean Up Australia as part of a school activity.

Clean Up the Kimberley

Clean Up the Kimberley is a series of community action-based projects focussed on the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The primary objectives of this initiative are to clean up rubbish hot spots, increase awareness of the scale and impact of rubbish in the region, change tourist and local community behaviour and improve local recycling and waste management infrastructure.

Clean Up the Alps

Clean Up the AlpsClean Up the Alps
/ref> is a project aimed at protecting the Alpine region of Victoria. It is run in conjunction with Parks Victoria, Conservation Volunteers Australia, and local communities as part of the Victorian Government's 'The Alps: A fresh start – a healthy future' program. The project culminates in the Clean Up the Alps weekend, held annually in November.

See also

* Environment of Australia
* Litter in Australia
*Clean-up (environment)

Notes

References

External links

* – Keep South Australia Beautiful (KESAB) environmental solutions
* – Keep Australia Beautiful National Association Ltd (KABNA)
* – Clean Up Australia
* – Clean Up the World

{{waste

Waste organizations
Environmental organisations based in Australia
Non-profit organisations based in New South Wales
Organisations based in Sydney
1989 establishments in Australia
Litter
Environmental awareness days
March observances
Environmental volunteering
Waste management in Australia

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