Clean Up Australia Day 2024
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 So Clean Up Australia Day is now in its 34th year where Australians come together to do
00:07 something practical for the environment. And this year we have more than 750,000 Australians
00:13 joining us to clean up the country. It's a wonderful opportunity to do something practical
00:17 for the environment and to come together outside with members of our local community to do
00:23 something that feels good, it's fun and it really has an impact on caring for the environment.
00:29 So we've got over 750,000 volunteers for Clean Up Australia Day this year across 10,000 sites.
00:35 It's so encouraging to see that Australians really get behind this practical action for
00:41 the environment.
00:43 So we're best known for Clean Up Australia Day but we support the community to clean
00:48 up all through the year and we also do a lot of work around prevention of litter at the
00:52 outset. So we work with schools and businesses and community groups helping to find practical
00:58 ways to make a difference to the environment all year round.
01:02 So we're finding more and more plastic and it's predominantly packaging and most of it
01:08 we find around waterways which is an important reminder not to drop litter on the ground
01:13 because most of it will eventually end up in a waterway.
01:18 The top items that our volunteers find in their clean up efforts are soft plastic pieces,
01:23 cigarette butts and plastic beverage containers.
01:29 It's an important reminder to take your litter with you when you leave, when you've enjoyed
01:34 the great outdoors, take it with you, don't drop it. But also think about how you can
01:38 reduce the amount of single use items that you're using in your day to day, whether that's
01:42 taking a reusable coffee cup or a usable drink bottle or saying no to excess packaging and
01:48 plastic wherever you can. It's those small things that we can each do that make a big
01:53 difference collectively.
01:56 Plastic in 130,000 tonnes of plastic litter leach into the marine environment every year
02:02 in Australia. So every bit that our volunteers are picking up out of the environment is making
02:07 a difference. And we are seeing a stronger push towards less packaging and less plastic
02:13 and because consumers are demanding that we're all frustrated by the amount of plastic that
02:17 we are confronted with, it is hard to avoid it. But there are simple things you can do
02:22 to say no and reduce what you are using.
02:26 There's this incredible community spirit with coming together for Clean Up Australia Day.
02:31 We've got sites in small regional towns in Australia, in the capital cities, right across
02:36 the country, over 10,000 sites. So I'm so proud that Australians really care about this
02:42 and want to take the care of the environment into their own hands. And it's a wonderful
02:48 way for communities to do something practical. It's very rewarding. You will feel instantly
02:54 rewarded once you've cleaned up. You can see the efforts of your labour. And it's a great
02:59 thing to do, working side by side with members of your community, doing something for the
03:04 outdoor areas we love and care about.
03:06 Yeah, I've been involved with Clean Up Australia for nearly half a decade now and what's not
03:12 to love about it? We get to come out here in the community with the grassroots of Australia
03:17 and clean up the grassroots of the country. I do spend a lot of time overseas competing,
03:23 representing Australia and it's a place I'm really proud of and a place I'm proud to call
03:27 home and somewhere I want to protect. So to come out here, it brings us all together for
03:31 such a good cause and supporting Pip in what she does with Clean Up Australia. Such a good
03:36 Australian.
03:37 I suppose the plastics, even some clothes you find out on the beach. In fact, I'm probably
03:42 going to make a video about the three most random things we find out there today because
03:46 each time we come out, we find so many different things. A lot of plastics, but you do get
03:51 some questionable stuff as well.
03:54 I suppose just looking after your own rubbish to start with. If you have some rubbish and
03:58 some litter, just put it in the right place. Put it in the bin. Don't let it blow away.
04:02 If it does, just go and pick it up. And most Australians are really good at doing this
04:06 and then just being conscious of your purchasing choices, what you're buying. Is it recycled?
04:11 Is it biodegradable? I think by picking up rubbish and being conscious of what you're
04:14 buying, those small little bits, something everyone can do, it does have an impact.
04:19 [BLANK_AUDIO]