IMAGE: Some of the volunteers who took part in Clean Up Australia on Sunday. They are (L-R) Michael, Hannah, Rhonda, Joanne and Michelle.
A small group of 12 people put in a big effort to make Clean Up Australia Day in Parkes a successful event.
“Clean Up Australia Day is a fantastic and fun event where everyone in the local community can come together to pick up rubbish to help conserve the environment,” said local co-ordinator Michelle Bicket.
“It would be great if we could see a good representation from local community and business groups next year, as many hands make light work,” said Michelle. “It lifts the spirit of participants when working as a team. The sense of achievement when cleaning up a larger area as a team is much greater than struggling with fewer numbers in the same area.” Michelle said even just an hour would make a huge difference to help clean up Parkes. Groups represented this year included Parkes Landcare and Parkes Shire Council staff.
Volunteers cleaned in PAC Park, Rotary Arboretum, Skate Park, the bicycle track and Wellington Road. “We only had 12 participants, however that did not deter them from hard work,” said Michelle. She noted there was a change in the waste collected with less bottles and cans in the environment, which could be attributed to the success of the Return and Earn scheme. There was still a large amount of take away waste in the local parks.
“We all have an impact on the environment through what we use, reuse, throw away and pick up. We can all make a difference by thinking of these things every day to benefit our environment and community.”
Although the official day is over, Sunday’s participants are calling on Parkes Shire residents to still go out and pick up rubbish in the parks and streets in your neighbour-hood. Corn starch bags are available from Council’s Planning & Environment Section at the Council Administration Centre to use for picking up rubbish.