Shellharbour City Council is encouraging community members to get involved in this year’s Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday 1 March to contribute to a more sustainable local environment.

Since the first Clean Up Australia Day event in 1990, over 365,000 ute loads of rubbish have been removed from a variety of Australian environments including waterways, parks and bushland thanks to the help of many groups and individuals in the City.

Shellharbour Mayor Marianne Saliba said that the focus of the day was not just to remove accumulated rubbish, but also to prevent it from entering the environment in the first place.

“The campaign encourages conversations about the impacts of waste and empowers people to make environmentally conscious decisions to be a part of the solution,” Cr Saliba said.

“I encourage everyone to come along and join in on the day. Together we can all make a difference in helping protect Shellharbour’s thriving natural environments.

“I was encouraged last year at the lack of rubbish we could find in the area we chose for a photoshoot last year. We had to have a serious look for some! While this is very encouraging, we all know that there is still a lot of work to be done in protecting our environment from litter,” she said.

To join a Clean Up event in Shellharbour City visit: https://www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/join-a-clean-up or call 4221 6111. For more information or to create a clean-up group visit: www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au

Media queries: Kelli Wells 0448 361 008