Take the rubbish home with you

litter is not cool CUAD 4

APRIL 2017 | Deb White

“WHO WOULD do this?” was the question on everyone’s lips as a group of Weegena residents made their way down the verges of Bengeo and Dunorlan roads on Clean Up Australia Day (CUAD), picking up an assortment of rubbish apparently thrown from cars by drivers who seem to care little about their own environment.

10-year old Nell was the first to speak the question “Who would do this?” thereby expressing the indignation of the group of 17 residents that responded to the Council invitation to register with the Australia-wide CUAD, as they tackled the problem of unsightly litter along our roadsides.

Extricating bottles, cans, drink containers, car parts and worse from the roadside ditches, all were astonished by the thoughtlessness of those who threw them there in the first place.

Brought together by Weegena Hall Committee member Annie Robinson, the group assembled at the Dunorlan turn-off on Sunday 5th March to receive their safety gear and briefing from Council Works Director Matthew Millwood, and were then on their way, resplendent in Hi-Viz vests, gloves and hats, followed by the flashing lights of the Council works truck which took away the bulging bags of rubbish at the end of the 2 hours’ work.

Project initiator Cr Deb White reports that she began to formulate the idea after picking up roadside rubbish while walking in Exton. Putting this together with a request from Annie for help in dealing with litter at Dunorlan, and the knowledge that community input would fit well with Clean Up Australia Day activities, she obtained Council approval for supporting the event with safety gear and signage.

“Because the contents of my pick-up suggested youthful offenders, I wanted some signs that would speak to this demographic,” said Cr White.

“We asked youth groups for ideas, and eventually came up with the final 3: ‘Don’t be a tosser – take your rubbish home with you!’ ‘Don’t be a fool, litter’s not cool’; ‘Every litter bit hurts’.

These were erected by Council prior to the day, and will stay in place for a while to increase awareness of the need to take your rubbish home with you!

Due to the success of this initiative, the expansion of the project to involve other groups, school visits and the distribution of in-car litter bags will be raised for discussion at a future Council meeting.

To register contact: patrick.gambles@mvc.tas.gov.au

Photo | Mike Moores