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Keep Australia Beautiful Week 2008

Keep Australia Beautiful Week 2008 ran from Monday 25 – Sunday 31 August.

Score Points for the Environment Challenge

Individuals, schools, businesses, community groups and local councils helped tackle climate change and protect our natural resources by participating in the Score Points for the Environment challenge during Keep Australia Beautiful Week 2008.

The challenge encouraged people to take simple actions to improve and conserve our environment while at the same time working their way towards 100 points.

Activities included recycling mobile phones and printer cartridges, switching to green energy, designing and improving sustainable gardens, community clean-up events, zero waste lunch days and much more.

Participation 2008

Well done to everyone who participated in Keep Australia Beautiful Week this year and scored points for our environment!

Western Australia made up 195 of 1050 participating groups Australia-wide. Many celebrity ambassadors joined us in the 100 point challenge, including the West Coast Eagles. Some of you may have also had a call from John Blackman when you reached your 100 point goal.

Here are just a few stories from the week…

Kambalda Primary School

KPS is a Waterwise, WasteWise and solar school and KAB week was an opportunity to reinforce the great work they are doing. During the week they held a Zero Waste Lunch Day; recycled mobile phones in a MobileMuster; hosted a Cartridge World recycling box; recycled paper, cans and plastic; fed food scraps to the school worms; turned lights off at the end of each day; brainstormed ways to save water; and ran a clean-up.

In their very busy week they scored a whopping 160 points!

Santa Maria College

Santa Maria takes a whole school approach in working towards being more sustainable at school and in the local community. During KAB week the Year 9 environmental group, Year 9 YCS and Eco sisters ran a MobileMuster, conducted after school clean-ups and established a sustainable garden.

KAB week was a way to raise awareness of their impact on the local environment, start making some long term environmental decisions at the school, minimise waste and look at different ways of using waste, e.g. compost in the new garden.

East Narrogin Primary School

ENPS have a rapidly growing environmental program at their school. During KAB week they ran a waste audit of the school followed by a Zero Waste Lunch Day. Room 8 gave an inspirational assembly to the school about creating “The World that we Want” through correct disposal of litter and waste and keeping Australia beautiful.

Keep Busselton Beautiful

KBBC had 42 enthusiastic volunteers who participated in a clean-up on Sunday 31 August. They picked up 31 bags of rubbish and 20 bags of recyclables on a wet and showery day. Main Roads also assisted in cleaning up 15 kilometres and Community Services picked up 20 rubbish bags along Tuart Drive, under the arrangement of KBBC and the Busselton Shire.

Main Roads WA

Main Roads Western Australia, Goldfields - Esperance region, with the assistance of their term network contractors, Macmahon Contractors, ran a roadside litter awareness program "Don’t Toss It, Bin It" from 18 - 22 August as a lead up to KAB week. The aim of the program was to increase public awareness to the problem of roadside litter and gain support in reducing rubbish not just for the week but for the long term.

During the week Macmahon undertook a major litter collection and removed approximately 250 tonnes of rubbish, ranging from cigarette butts to car bodies. The program was also supported by local mining and transport companies and Local Shires who displayed posters, distributed brochures and litter bags and where possible placed bins at exit points from their worksites.

Shire of Esperance

The Shire of Esperance had a bagsmart (shopping without plastic bags) display. Shoppers using or purchasing reusable bags went into a free draw to win a voucher from a local plastic bag free business, or a worm farm or compost bin. They also had a recycling display with information on what can and can't be recycled locally.

To find out how Australia got on overall please visit www.keepaustraliabeautiful.org.au and you will see the positive environmental contribution that you have all made and can continue to make by carrying out some simple actions in your daily lives.