Clean Up Australia Day

Litter harms Australian wildlife in several ways. Animals can mistake plastic bags, balloons, or fishing line for food, which can block their digestive systems or cause starvation.

Loose loops and nets can entangle turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals, leading to injury, infection, or drowning.

Sharp metal and broken glass can cut paws and feet, while discarded fishing gear and hooks can cause severe wounds.

Microplastics formed as larger items break down are also being found in seabirds and marine animals, which raises concerns about long‑term health impacts across food chains.  

Clean Up Australia’s national litter surveys show plastics are the dominant type of rubbish found across most environments.

Soft plastics such as wrappers and bags, hard plastic fragments, and plastic packaging together account for the majority of items reported at clean‑up sites.

Packaging overall is a major contributor, and cigarette butts consistently rank among the most common single items.

Surveys also increasingly record single‑use drink containers and vaping products at a growing number of locations, particularly around urban waterways and parks.  

Plastic waste is a major concern because Australia generates about 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, which works out to roughly 100 kilograms per person, and most of it is not recovered.

Only a small share is recycled, while the majority goes to landfill or leaks into the environment. Plastics are light, easily windblown, and slow to break down, so they accumulate in oceans, rivers, and bushland, where they can persist for decades.

As larger pieces fragment into microplastics, they become even harder to remove and are more readily ingested by wildlife.  

Safety experts and environmental organizations recommend starting with a site risk assessment to identify traffic hazards, unstable ground, or potential exposure to needles and sharp objects.

Volunteers are advised to wear sturdy closed shoes, gloves, sun protection, and high‑visibility or light‑colored clothing.

Organizers should supply a first aid kit, brief participants on safe lifting techniques, and instruct them not to handle dangerous or excessively heavy items.

Handwashing or sanitizing before eating, careful use of sharps containers for needles or broken glass, and having clear procedures for emergencies all help reduce risk.  

Environmental groups advise separating recyclables from general waste at the point of collection, using clearly labeled bags or bins for plastics, glass, cans, and paper where local recycling services accept them.

Organizers are encouraged to coordinate with their local council before the event to arrange collection from a central drop‑off point or to identify which materials can go into existing kerbside recycling systems.

Very large, hazardous, or heavy objects are generally best left in place and reported to council for specialist removal instead of being handled by volunteers. Accurate counts of the types of items collected can also be recorded to help improve local waste policies.  

Research and long‑running clean‑up programs suggest that while a single event removes only a snapshot of waste, repeated community clean‑ups have wider benefits.

They prevent some litter from entering waterways and oceans, reduce immediate risks to wildlife, and improve the appearance of public spaces.

Just as importantly, recording what is collected helps build evidence about problem products and hot spots, which councils and governments can use to change bin infrastructure, enforcement, or packaging rules.

Regular local involvement has also been shown to strengthen people’s sense of responsibility for shared spaces, which can help reduce littering over time.  

Australia’s plastic waste challenges mirror global trends in overproduction, short‑lived packaging, and limited recycling capacity.

International studies and Australian data both indicate that marine plastic pollution is rising and that most seabird species are at risk of ingesting plastic by mid‑century.

Because ocean currents move floating debris across borders, plastic that escapes Australian waste systems can travel far beyond its coastline.

This makes national efforts to reduce single‑use plastics, improve recycling, and clean up local environments part of a broader global push to cut plastic leakage and protect marine ecosystems worldwide.