The City of Cockburn is collaborating with Keep Australia Beautiful Council (KABC) to help a growing number of passionate locals Adopt-a-Spot to reduce litter in their favourite park, nature area or suburb.
KABC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the city in a move that provides volunteers with rubbish-collecting equipment including bags, tongs and gloves.
More than 82 groups of Cockburn volunteers have registered with the Keep Australia Beautiful Council Adopt-a-Spot program since 2009. Clare Courtauld, City of Cockburn Waste Education Co-ordinator said the MOU would enable the city to provide free KABC clean-up kits to all Adopt-a-Spot volunteers.
“The city will also dispose of rubbish collected during individual and group clean-ups and Adopt-a-Spot volunteers will now be covered by KABC insurance,” Courtauld said.
“We have some very successful teams operating in Cockburn and several house-proud residents who regularly collect litter from local parks and streets, taking bags and bags of rubbish out of the environment. It’s the least we can do to say thanks and help them continue this amazing work.”
From 23 clean-up reports received in Cockburn in 2020-21, 31 bags of litter and 3870 cigarette butts were removed from the environment across 42 volunteer hours.
From July 2021 to date, 26 clean-up reports have already been received, with 44 bags of litter and 1928 cigarette butts removed from the environment in more than 39 volunteer hours.
“These local champions do this not just to keep their suburb looking great, but to create a healthy environment where our native flora and fauna can thrive,” Courtauld said.
“The Port Coogee Community Association has dedicated Adopt-a-Spot teams operating in North Coogee, including around the Port Coogee marina area, collecting litter on a weekly basis. This helps keep rubbish from entering the marina and ocean environment, and Ngarkal Beach.
“It’s perfect for individuals, families, community groups, schools and even local businesses.”
More than 13 teams have recently registered with the City’s Adopt-a-Spot program and more are encouraged to either complete a one-off community-led effort or collect rubbish on a regular basis.
Courtauld said it was also a fun way to earn money by collecting containers that could be redeemed for 10c each as part of Western Australia’s Containers for Change scheme.
Anna Cross, KABC Acting Programs and Communications Officer said the program was perfect for residents who constantly felt frustrated by the presence of litter in their street, at the park or local beach.
“Individuals, community groups, businesses or school communities can volunteer with the Adopt-a-Spot program and contribute to a cleaner environment,” Cross said. “Volunteers receive free resources to help, insurance cover if needed and an Adoption Certificate.”
She said volunteers could also keep a tally of how much rubbish they collected by making an online litter report at the KABC website.
For more information, visit: www.kab.org.au
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