An incredible nine tonnes of rubbish was collected across Lake Macquarie by more than 8000 volunteers in March as part of the 30th annual Clean Up Australia Day effort.
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Lake Macquarie Mayor Kay Fraser said that with Clean Up Australia Day (held the first Sunday of March) finished for another year, locals could look back and be proud of the contributions they made to keep their community clean.
"This year, a total of 84 sites were registered across Lake Macquarie City. It's great to see so many people in the community get involved," she said.
"Clean Up Australia Day was a great success and I'm so proud to be part of such a passionate community that takes care of its City."
The national Clean Up Australia Day Office estimated that a total of 8054 volunteers participated in Lake Macquarie, contributing 16,108 hours to cleaning up the environment.
A number of community groups registered sites, including Sustainable Neighbourhood Groups, Emergency Services supporters, Landcare, bushwalking clubs and church groups.
Lake Macquarie City Council collected bags of rubbish from each site for disposal at Awaba Waste Management Facility. Recyclable materials were delivered to the Materials Recovery Centre at Gateshead.
From this collection, the council disposed of 5.2 tonnes of rubbish and 4 tonnes of recyclables.
"My hope is that Clean Up Australia Day inspired everyone to continue to make sustainable choices," Cr Fraser said.
"If people are interested in continuing the good work, they can sign up to our Eco Angel program later in the year."
The Eco Angel Program is designed to help keep Lake Macquarie clean year-round by bringing schools, community groups, businesses and individuals together to beautify public spaces. Residents are encouraged to sign-up to the program that will resume later in the year after COVID-19. For more details, go to ecoangel.com.