15 March 2023
Council proudly supported this year’s Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday 5 March which saw hundreds upon hundreds of kilos of waste removed from Tweed parks, gardens, and waterways.
Across the Shire, there were some 50 registered clean up events organised by individuals, primary and secondary schools, and community organisations.
Volunteers of all ages helped at each clean up event, doing their bit to reduce the amount of litter found in our natural environment - and spread the message that the less waste we create, the better.
Lauren Morgan from Positive Change for Marine Life was part of the team who organised the Kingscliff Clean Up. She said they had 200 people step up to clean rubbish from the foreshore and surrounds of Rowan Robinson Park – including Nippers from Cudgen Surf Club.
Big Trev from Watersports Tweed said a huge thank you to the 40 or so people who showed up to the yearly clean-up he organises at Jack Evans Boat Harbour. Also, in the area as part of a school clean up were students from Tweed River High’s Green Team who worked tirelessly picking up rubbish along the Tweed River.
The Wooyung Clean Up Team did some heavy lifting, clearing out old car tires and scrap building materials that had been thrown in the bush.
One thing is for certain, single use plastics are still the most common littered item across the Tweed. Plastic bottles, straws and food packaging were sadly a common sight in most areas. Cigarette butts were also prolific, found strewn in large quantities across our nature parks and coastline.
There were also other common additions to the waste piles collected, including deck chairs, bait bags and fishing lines.
Wesley Knight, Council’s Resource and Recovery Project Officer thanked the community for getting behind the national event year after year – and for helping push the sustainability message.
“It is great to see people in the Tweed showing up to support Clean Up Australia Day. It shows that we have a community that cares. Judging from the amount of rubbish collected this year– it shows that much more needs to be done” he said.
“We also hope people are getting the message about single use plastics. It is always better to use reusable products than add to landfill – and absolutely never litter! Worst case, if you must use them, recycle these items when you can. And if you are ever unsure what goes in which bin, use Council’s Waste Wizard.”
Waste Wizard is a tool developed by Council that allows you to search for products to see which bin they go in.
He thanked Council partners Solo Resource Recovery who donated their time, trucks and bins to assist with waste collection on the day. He also mentioned the generosity of Twin Towns in Tweed for their donation of BBQ goods for their local clean ups.