Quamby’s community cycling cleaners

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June 2016 | Elizabeth Douglass

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BEAUTIFUL WEATHER lures most of us outside and Janette Mitchelson of Quamby Bend is no exception.

Getting her pushbike out and cycling around the back lanes of her neighbourhood seemed like a great idea. Janette said “I enjoy the breeze on my face and the exercise riding about the area.”

However, the one disadvantage of cycling or walking is that “we go slowly enough to see the rubbish on the sides of the road.”

“The council have sprayed the edges, which looks great and helps keep the grass and weeds at bay (but) also brings to light all the rubbish laying about.”

“I have to do something”, Janette thought. So after a few phone calls to neighbours, Janette organised a date and time for a local rubbish pickup.

Janette and Ian Mitchelson, James, Jenny and Paul Mcmahon, Malcolm Lee, and Ian Gatenby accompanied by Murphy the dog spent Sunday of the Anzac weekend roaming the lanes of Quamby Bend.

With four 4-wheel motor bikes, bright coloured clothes and hand-held pickup tools, it took them 2 hours to cover a square or block of 10 kms.

The effort collected two 200 litre drums of discarded drink bottles, about a dozen cartons of beer bottles and the same of cans, and enough coffee and food containers to fill a 50kg grain bag.

Janette felt she had to do something and her neighbours rallied to help.

But, as Janette says: “Why litter! We shouldn’t have to pick up your rubbish. Take it with you, have a rubbish bag in the car. Little things can make a big difference.”