Residents get hands dirty at clean-up

Residents scoured Port and South Hedland on the long weekend for litter as they took part in the annual Clean Up Australia Day activities.

For the 14th year running, the environmental group Care For Hedland hosted a range of clean-up activities including the Port-South Road Adopt-A-Spot roadway site, Scadden Road in South Hedland and Cemetery and Pretty Pool beaches.

In total, 42 volunteers gave up part of their long weekend to collect a whopping 353kg of litter where a road train tyre, shopping trolleys, tents, fishing rods, buckets, plastic tubs and a vehicle fuel filter were among the rubbish collected.

Care For Hedland chairwoman Kelly Howlett thanked everyone who volunteered and contributed to this year’s result.

“While a significant improvement was made, there is still much more to do in terms of tackling the scourge of litter in our town,” she said.

“Care For Hedland also looks forward, in coming months, to welcoming back the popular Captain Cleanup back to town to help raise awareness on the issue of litter with our local schools.”

Most of the rubbish collected in the area were from either littering and unsecured loads.

For 2017, an estimated 566,000 volunteers joined together across Australia to clean up their local parks, waterways, beaches, sporting fields, bushlands and roadways.

Care For Hedland has a number of litter reduction strategies and awareness raising campaigns planned for 2017 including the annual South Hedland Street Blitz in June.

To get involved in future litter reduction and awareness-raising campaigns, contact Care For Hedland co-ordinator Melissa Wood on 0488 907 260 or email coordinator@careforhedland.org.au.