Clean Up army ready for action

Volunteers donning yellow gloves will scour beaches, parks and streets for rubbish across the City of Moreton Bay during and in the lead-up to Clean Up Australia Day on March 3.

Among them will be a crew from the Rotary Club of Redcliffe Sunrise, which has been involved in the day for more than 10 years.

Joining them will be the Sleurink family – club president Brad, his wife Georgie and children Will, 5, and Chloe, 2.

“We spend a lot of time at the beach. It’s one of our favourite things to do when we have time together. It’s important that we know that the beach is safe and that our kids can play there, now and going forward,” Brad says.

“My son, anytime he sees rubbish on the ground he asks, ‘why would somebody leave that there?’ It’s hard to answer.

“He makes a concerted effort … if he sees any bottles, he’ll pick them up and carry them with him to the bin.”

Vice-president Colin Scobie says the group will leave from Rotary Park at Redcliffe and clean up to Scarborough and down to Suttons Beach.

They will also target surrounding streets, with the volume of rubbish found on the beach reducing in recent years.

Colin says the reduction in waste is probably due to more responsible rubbish disposal but also thanks to community members who walk the beaches and clean up on a regular basis.

“I think people are more conscious of picking up rubbish,” he says.

“It varies. I go for a bike ride every morning and I go along Elizabeth Ave … I see there are a lot of commercial food wrappers and containers and stuff like that.

“Although there is less happening on the beach, there’s more of it in other areas.”

Volunteers will meet at the Rotary Park rotunda, on the Redcliffe foreshore at 7.30am, with refreshments afterwards.

To find a Clean Up Australia Day event near you, head to the website