Cleaning up West End
While most of us were sleeping in on Sunday March 1st, a group of people arose early and congregated at the Big Goanna on Boundary Street. Their goal, to clean up West End.
Clean Up Australia Day at West End was organised by Councillor Helen Abrahams and the cleaning crew included members of community groups like Rotaract and the West End Community House and the West End Traders Association.
Cr Abrahams said her goal was “to clean the street and to learn just where the hot spots were with regard to cigarette butt littering.”
“The quantity picked up was secondary,” she said.
However, the amount of rubbish picked up was significant.
Luke Pitty, from the South Brisbane Rotaract Club, said the 23 cleaners managed to fill an entire ute with rubbish.
“We did a pretty good job,” he said. “We collected any rubbish that we could see. We collected a Ute full of rubbish!”
They were targeting lolly wrappers but especially cigarette butts. Luke said the sheer volume of cigarette butts was quite substantial.
“The amount of cigarette butts that were collected [was gross],” he said.
“More than half of all the rubbish collected would have been cigarette butts!”
Cr Abrahams says she hopes to keep Boundary Street free of litter for as long as possible.
“I know that [these initiatives] are important to the participants but I am not sure if the butt litters will modify their behaviour at all,” she says.
“But I have agreement from the Council officers to go and fine those caught littering in the next few weeks.
“They have been in the street warning this week.”
Luke said as part of the community we should all try to keep the area clean.
“As members of a community we are all responsible for the environment that our community lives in,” he said.
“I guess it would be naive to expect Boundary Street to remain as clean as it was after Clean Up Australia Day however I hope that next year we won’t have to fill a whole ute full of rubbish.
““Although I don't think there were any people that were brave enough to litter that morning!”
Both said they were approached by a number of curious passers by.
“A few people did ask us what we were doing,” Luke said.
“One person came to pick up milk and he worked for 45 mintues,” Helen said.
In the end Luke said the day was enjoyable.
“It was great to meet up with community minded people from our area and do something active about one of the concerns (i.e. the rubbish) that affect the area,” Luke said.
“We hope that Clean Up Australia Day will make people think twice before they litter.
“Eventually someone will have to pick it up! Put it in the bin yourself.”
See also: http://www.westender.com.au/news/426
