Media release 12 September 2006

Rapid global growth of Aussie “rubbish” idea

• 122 Countries to take part in the 2006 Clean Up the World Weekend on 15-17 September
• Australians involved in clean up campaigns in Cambodia, Ghana, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Tanzania and Tonga
• Sydney Harbour and foreshore clean ups also planned

Sydney, Australia - One of Australia's most successful exports, Clean Up the World, is set to scale new heights as tens of millions of volunteers in 122 countries get ready to clean up their streets, parks, beaches, rivers and mountains on 15-17 September.

The Clean Up the World campaign was started by Ian Kiernan AO in 1993 following the success of Clean Up Australia Day and is held in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

"The idea is simple but the result is so powerful that Clean Up the World has grown steadily to now be active in 122 countries. It is clear that communities across the world want to make their own difference to their environment," Mr Kiernan said.

Since the start of the campaign, Clean Up the World members worldwide have collected an estimated 3,574,991 tonnes of rubbish - enough to fill 5,710 Olympic size swimming pools. Plastic, glass, metal and cigarette butts are among the most commonly found rubbish items every year.

Among the campaign's estimated 30 million volunteers across the globe, dozens of Australians will be working with overseas communities this year to help "clean up, fix up and conserve the environment."

Melbournians Chris Greenwood and Merril Halley are working in Cambodia to help conserve the Mekong River ecosystem, including the critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin. As part of the Clean Up the World campaign, they are organizing regular rubbish pick-up and educational campaigns together with the provincial government.

Dick North, a retired optician from Dubbo, has travelled to Nepal and Mongolia over the past few years to educate local children on the impacts of litter in the environment. During this year's Clean Up Banepa event in Nepal, he will encourage residents to use reusable "green" shopping bags instead of plastic ones.

Marc Preston, also from Melbourne, is the CEO of Australian Aid International, a humanitarian and emergency relief NGO. He and his team will be coordinating a clean up event in the earthquake-hit town of Bagh in northern Pakistan.

As part of the Australian Youth Ambassadors Development program, Nicola Beckett is working with disadvantaged children in the Philippines. Together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Mandaluyong City Hall, Clean Up the Philippines Movement and Australian Embassy staff, she will be carrying out a litter collection campaign on Saturday, 16 September in Mandaluyong City.

Locally, many Australians will build upon their Clean Up Australia Day efforts by participating in the Clean Up the World Weekend. Dive 2000, one of Australia's most experienced dive centres, is organizing an underwater clean up at Sydney's Balmoral pool and beach on Sunday, 17 September, while HarbourKeepers, a branch of the NSW National Parks Association, will be conducting clean up dives in Mosman and Watson's Bay, as well as foreshore clean ups jointly with NSW Scouts.

For more information, contact Xenya Cherny Scanlon at (02) 9692 1215, 0400 311 430, world@cleanup.com.au or visit www.cleanuptheworld.org. A three-minute B-roll in Betacam SP format, photographs and detailed information about Clean Up the World activities in Australia and overseas are available upon request.

Other clean up activities led by Australians overseas include:

• Clean up Engaruka, Tanzania, organized by Gecko's Adventures, an Australian adventure tour operator, where tourists will work together with the Maasai community to clean up their town, located in the scenic Rift Valley surrounded by volcanoes including the mighty Mt Kilimanjaro.
• An Australian Aid project in the Kingdom of Tonga that aims to modernize rubbish collection services, set up a new landfill, and generate public awareness.
• Clean up of the City of La in Ghana, coordinated by the Australian High Commission, will mobilise volunteers to clean up drains and gutters to prevent the spread of malaria-carrying mosquitoes
• Indonesia Australia Action Committee, spearheaded by Lenny Sulaiman from Lane Cove, will be organizing a clean up event in Indonesia's capital Jakarta, in which several hundred volunteers are expected to take part.
• The Quest, an initiative led by a Nepalese-Australian Sojen Pradhan, will be organising clean ups and environmental education activities in high schools in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal.
• Peurto Galera is a community group mobilized by Ian Moran from Manly, which works with local government and schools on the Mindaro Island, the Philippines, to promote environmental awareness.

Activities planned in Australia:

Austin's Ferry
One of 12 community committees established by the Glenorchy City Council, Austin's Ferry, Tasmania, will be organizing the Roseneath Creek Clean Up on 17 September.

Clean Up Lane Cove Park
Organized by Brambles, a leading global provider of support services and Clean Up the World sponsor, the event will bring together volunteers who will clean up a section of Lane Cove Park in Sydney, NSW.

Clean Up Railway
Held on 17 September, this clean up event will focus on a section between Camberwell & Canterbury Railway Stations in Melbourne, Victoria.

Clean Up Launceston
During the Clean Up the World Weekend, volunteers will promote the Launceston Recycling and Landcare Projects, collect and recycle rubbish, and clean weeds from streets, bushlands and waterways of Tasmania's second largest city.

Dive 2000
Dive 2000, one of Australia's most experienced dive centres, is organizing an underwater clean up at Sydney's Balmoral pool and beach on Sunday, 17 September.

Clean Up Brighton Beach
Volunteer Frank Ford holds individual clean ups in Adelaide, South Australia. This year, he will focus on cleaning up the Brighton Beach.

Friends of the Children Foundation
This charity group involved in children welfare and wellbeing will organise a clean up along Scotchman Creek and Melbourne Water Retarding Basin on 17 September.

Gecko's Adventures
This grassroots adventure travel organisation and a corporate friend of Clean Up the World is organising trips with a clean up component to a variety of destinations throughout the year.

Livingstone Shire Council, Youth Services
The Youth Services Section of the Livingstone Shire Council in Queensland will hold a Clean Up Our Town event on 17 September, focusing on the local Skate Park and main street. Several local councils and schools will be involved.

Mowbray Public School
This small public school in Sydney will hold a clean up event involving students, teachers and parents on 15 September.

HarbourKeepers - NSW National Parks Association
HarbourKeepers is a non-profit conservation organisation working to protect the marine areas of New South Wales through advocacy, education and events. Activities on 17 September will include underwater clean ups in Chowder Bay, Mosman, and Camp Cove, Watsons Bay, as well as foreshore clean ups.

North Rocks Community Church
For over 10 years, North Rocks Community Church has been mobilising the community living in Sydney's western suburb of Parramatta to eradicate weeds that threaten native vegetation in the Lake Parramatta Flora and Fauna Reserve. Their clean up event will be held on 15-16 September.

About Clean Up the World
The Clean Up campaign started in 1989 when an Australian solo-yachtsman and builder Ian Kiernan, appalled by the amount of rubbish he came across while sailing, organized a clean up of the Sydney Harbour, during which some 40,000 volunteers removed rusted car bodies, plastics, glass bottles and cigarette butts from the water.

The campaign went global in 1993, with Sydney becoming Clean Up the World's headquarters. Today it brings together hundreds of members from around the world ranging from local community groups to national campaigns that carry out environmental projects throughout the year. The Clean Up the World Weekend held in September each year has the highest participation of all. For more information, visit www.cleanuptheworld.org.