REVIEW OF OPERATIONS 2015-2016
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CONTENTS I N T R O D U C T I O N 4 C O M M U N I T I E S I N A C T I O N 6 CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY 6 SCHOOLS 8 YOUTH 8 BUSINESS 10 The Great Northern Clean Up 13 E v e ry d ay i s C l e a n U p D ay 14 Clean Up Mobile Phones 14
Clean Up the World 16 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES 18 RUBBISH REPORT
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Living Greener 20 cleanup@cleanup 20
ADVOCACY 22 Cash for Containers S ay N O t o p l a s t i c b a g s Bottled Water
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FUNDING
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Our funding partners 2015/16 Financial Year 2015 Financial Year 2016
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TEAM CLEAN UP CONTACT US
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INTRODUCTION During 2015-2016 Clean Up Australia celebrated 25 years of national and student volunteer action, reminding us what has been achieved by the hundreds of thousands of individuals who have donated more than 31 million hours of community service. In 2015 we recognised local community heroes as I toured the country, presenting Awards and learning more about the achievements of a broad range of individuals representing the diversity of backgrounds of our volunteers. In 2016 our focus was on kids – as we encouraged and recognised the nearly 5 million students who have been involved since we launched Schools Clean Up Day in 1991. As a result volunteer participation in our calendar of events continues to increase. Over 2015-2016 we saw a 33% increase in volunteer involvement in events. Our broad range of educational resources and tools continue to remain popular – with teachers, students and researchers accessing data and information for projects across the nation. Since our partnership commenced in 2014 with Cool Australia 24,285 lesson plans have been downloaded by teachers from this resource site. This year we again shared rubbish report data with the CSIRO and state based EPAs for their comparative use; highlighting the types and volumes of rubbish being removed from areas that are important or special to the volunteers who are involved in local clean ups. This data has also been extensively referenced in our advocacy work to encourage the introduction of a national container refund scheme. We are proud to have led community action that has resulted in significant progress in New South Wales, Queensland Western Australia, where state governments have announced introduction of schemes to commence in 2017 and 2018.
Lightweight plastic bags are also firmly back on the agenda. In late 2016 Queensland announced it would take the lead for an eastern seaboard solution that will bring their state and New South Wales in-line with a ban of lightweight single-use bags such as that already enacted in all states except here and Victoria. Such progress is again the result of community led action and we are proud to have been instrumental in mobilising individuals and groups as they influence local outcomes. In 2016 we welcomed Cleanaway as a corporate partner commencing May 2016 and Australia Post as a new supplier, recognising their financial and in-kind support via reduced postage rates. Cleanaway will join the team as a major partner of Clean Up Australia Day 2017-19. We welcome and look forward to working with their teams nationally as we Clean Up with Cleanaway.
IAN KIERNAN AO FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN
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CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY COME ON AUSTRALIA - LET’S GO!
As we celebrated the 25th Anniversary of our national flagship event in 2015 an estimated 533,551 volunteers donned their gloves and picked up a bag to remove around 13,708 tonnes of rubbish from 6,231 sites across the nation. In 2016 we saw an additional 753,966 volunteers remove another 14,949 ute loads of rubbish from a further 6,795 registered locations.
Community groups, councils, corporates, local business and thousands of volunteers work tirelessly every year to make the event a success. Each year these volunteers continue to report increasing numbers of single use packaging items such as beverage containers, a staggering number of cigarette butts and recyclables such as glass, plastics and paper that continue to rubbish our parks, beaches, waterways and road-sides.
This level of participation firmly reinforces Clean Up Australia Day as the nation’s largest community mobilisation event; under which school and youth participation has grown by 13%; business and community groups by 7%. In 2016 we separated high schools from school registrations, channelling them into the youth stream.
Traditional media continues to support the action of volunteers – with editorial coverage reaching an estimated audience of 33 million.
Since the national event started 26 years ago, Australians have donated more than 31 million hours, removing the equivalent of 331 thousand tonnes of rubbish from more than 165 thousand locations across the country.
Clean Up thanks the hundreds of thousands of volunteers, councils and local government workers, the guys and girls driving the trucks collecting the bags of rubbish, our sponsors and the hundreds of donors who have funded this journey.
This is a massive effort - 331,000 tonnes is the equivalent of 331 thousand fully laden utes, stretched end to end between Brisbane and Sydney via the coastline.
To see all of the results, go to Clean Up Australia Day
Social media followers also continue to grow, facebook increasing by 68% and twitter by 25%. In 2016 we also revitalised our Instagram and Linkedin presence.
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SCHOOLS Back to School Since 1991 an estimated 4,891,367 school kids have removed around 3,391 ute loads of rubbish from 47,489 school yards, campuses and local parks across the nation. This effort is all due to the teachers, their principals and school communities who band together every year to encourage their students to stop, take a look around them and pick up the rubbish they have left behind. In 2015 in response to teacher feedback, we trialled separating junior and high schools, offering smaller children half-sized clean up bags, more reflective of the volumes of rubbish they are likely to remove and their ability to handle the equipment provided free of charge to their school. In 2016 we celebrated 25 years of school yard action, encouraging a number of VIPs and celebrities, including the Prime Minister, to return to school for the day. Nationally local media, politicians and actors heeded the call – sharing their childhood clean up experiences, encouraging a new generation to be involved and joining kids from their old school as they cleaned up and then reviewed the rubbish that had been collected through their efforts. We welcomed Stickybeaks to the team in 2016 as our first official school supporter. Stickybeaks donated 1,000 lunch wallets to each of three primary schools as part of their support – encouraging wrapper-free lunches across the nation.
YOUTH Favourite Moments Scout, Girl Guide, high school, university and TAFE college participation continues to grow, recording increases of 10.6%. In 2015 Guides Australia introduced a 25th Anniversary badge, encouraging girls across the country to register local sites. Utilising Instagram, youth groups were encouraged to record their Favourite Clean Up moment in 2016 – the team from Macquarie University Rotaract Club winning a Shotbox S71 camera.
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BUSINESS Business teams join the action Participants in Business Clean Up actively promote a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, telling us it’s a fantastic way to be seen as a community leader, engaging with their staff, customers and local community. 176 organisations registered 255 locations for Business Clean Up Day 2015. 174 businesses registered 268 locations in 2016. Many companies registered multiple sites across the country, encouraging their employees and suppliers to join with local communities to clean up degraded areas. Uptake in the Business Supporter program also continues to grow with 11 organisations joining us in 2015. In 2016 we revitalised the offers attracting 15 organisations. Business supporters run multiple business sites across the country – encouraging branch and department competition. GreenBizCheck continued their partnership, offering business supporters a free eco-health check. We congratulate and thank businesses across the country for their support and participation.
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The Great Northern Clean Up In response to local community and government feedback that March is not a great time to be working in the tropical sun, The Great Northern Clean Up was piloted in 2009. Since then an estimated 30,054 volunteers have removed around 1,795 ute loads of rubbish from 713 registered sites. In 2015 the event took place during the month of September. Across Australia, a total of 8,058 volunteers had already removed around 624.36 tonnes of rubbish from 258 sites between the end of March and that month of action. During September an additional 2,530 volunteers removed an estimated 196 tonnes of rubbish from 81 sites across participating states. In 2016 the event took place during the months of September-October when an estimated additional 3,656 volunteers removed around 211.2 tonnes of rubbish from 96 sites across northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. State by state, volunteers have so far achieved: NT: 71 sites, approximately 4,708 volunteers, an estimated 156.2 tonnes of rubbish removed. QLD: 286 sites, approximately 12,374 volunteers, an estimated 629.2 tonnes of rubbish removed. WA: 79 sites, approximately 3,399 volunteers, an estimated 173.8 tonnes of rubbish removed. Congratulations to all of our most northern volunteers who took to their streets, parks, beaches bushland and waterways during 2015 and 2016 to remove accumulating rubbish. A special thank you to the Councils who worked with us in supporting all of their efforts.
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E v e ry d ay i s C l e a n U p D ay As well as participating in the flagship Clean Up Australia Day event held on the first Sunday in March, we encourage communities, schools and businesses to help Clean Up Australia every day. Volunteers can organise a clean up on any day of the year as a one-off, weekly, monthly, bimonthly or quarterly event. In 2015, 192 groups recorded an everyday site. In 2016 this swelled to 906 locations across the nation.
Clean Up Mobile Phones Responding to the dramatic surge of new smart technology, we upgrade and replace our devices far more frequently now than we did a couple of years ago. Electronic waste is the biggest sleeper within our waste stream – and it’s growing three times faster than any other source of rubbish. In 2015, 1,401 phones were donated to Clean Up Australia. Each phone raised $3.00 for Clean Up. In 2016 the recycler alerted Clean Up that they were no longer able to offer the same level of recycling or returns for donated phones so in July we closed the program. Prior to that end date a further 607 phones were donated by members of the communities and businesses, demonstrating there is an appetite for recycling of these devices.
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Clean Up the World A calendar year program, Clean Up the World Weekend is celebrated globally the third weekend of September. In 2015-2016, organisations undertook 547 activities. From 87 countries, regional spread [based on UN Regions] was: 33% Africa 31% Latin America & Caribbean 19% Asia Pacific 7% Europe 7% West Asia 3% North America Participants include non-government organisations, community/family groups, religious groups, local governments and business, and are primarily from developing countries. Their activities can engage a small village or a whole nation and ranged from clean ups, education campaigns, environmental concerts, creative competitions and exhibitions to improving water quality, planting trees, minimising waste production and establishing recycling programmes. Participants annually profile their environmental activities, on the Activities Website sharing achievements, experiences and alliances. Clean Up thanks our allies, the United Nations Environment Programme and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; for their help in spreading the word through their global networks. Want to learn more about Clean Up the World? http://www.cleanuptheworld.org
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EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Rubbish Report Our annual Rubbish Report is a snapshot of the rubbish removed by Clean Up Australia volunteers. Since 1991, the Rubbish Report has proven to be an invaluable resource in identifying trends in the types and spread of rubbish throughout Australia. It continues to demonstrate the importance of avoiding, reducing, re-using and recycling waste. The Report is compiled from End of Clean Up reports lodged by site co-ordinators across the country. In 2015, 724 sites returned valid surveys. Together they counted 202,524 rubbish items – the content of 3,096 bags. In 2016, 793 locations counted content from 2,707 bags recording 128,328 items. What did they find? Beverage containers and their associated rubbish continue to outstrip cigarette butts as the Number 1 item within the National Top 10. In 2016 beverage containers which would have been covered by a container refund scheme represented 18% of plastics [14.8% in 2015], 51.3% of metals [56.3% in 2015] and 65.5% of glass [71.3% the previous year]. We welcome reductions in counts within metal and glass categories – reflecting the successful introduction of a container refund scheme in the Northern Territory, and look forward to similar reductions in counts as the scheme is rolled out and settles down in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Unfortunately cigarette butts remain the most common single item reported by volunteers. The good news is counts were down in 2016, reflecting 8.6% of reported items versus 12% in 2015. In 2015 we again encouraged volunteers to segregate butts for recycling – providing, via a partnership with Australia Post, a free post satchel for their dispatch to Terracycle. Interest remained high – with great feedback on how to better design the satchels for easier on-site use. Unfortunately the scheme was abandoned in 2016 when funding by the tobacco industry was withdrawn and the recycling program ground to a halt. Plastic remains the most common type of rubbish, representing 39% [36% in 2015] of all rubbish items reported. This is the 22nd year that plastic continues to dominate as the ‘Major Sources of Rubbish’. Nationally, parks remain the most popular community Clean Up sites, closely followed by suburban roadways and waterways.
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Living Greener The pace of our daily lives means we are often tempted to take shortcuts when it comes to thinking about how we can reduce our impact on our environment. But it doesn’t need to be that way. Living Greener provides practical and simple solutions to every day problems. Our tips cover at home, at school, at work and when you are out and about. We also offer teachers classroom based educational resources written by teachers for teachers. Adapted for smart board use, and linked to curriculum nationally, these resources have great uptake nationally.
cleanup@cleanup Clean Up daily fields questions from the community about issues that concern them, responds to questions about ‘how /where do I …..’ and assists students with research and assignments. Three of the most common areas of interest are currently:
Container deposits Our call for a national container refund scheme remains the #1 issue about which individuals and groups seek information. During 2015/16 key questions related to status of state consideration, actions people could take to enable their voices to be heard and how implementation of the schemes would affect their neighbourhood. People of New South Wales celebrated announcement of their scheme for 2017, actively engaging in community consultation.
Plastic bags Many groups and individuals remain keen to work with local retailers to ban single use plastic bags in their community. The people of Queensland are proud of their state government for taking the lead towards an eastern seaboard solution by enforcing a ban. This is not just a local issue – communities across the globe are facing increased plastic bag use and the devastation that this rubbish item creates.
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Disposal of unusual items Many people come to us asking for disposal advice about a variety of unusual items. Building materials rate highly, followed by mixed material items, outdated electronic accessories and hazardous materials. Polystyrene remains a challenge – with limited outlets able to deal with the multitude of food trays people collect from supermarket and other retail operations. Clean Up tries to help as many people as we can – if you need advice contact us at cleanup@cleanup.com.au. If we can’t help you – we will try to pass you on to someone who can.
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ADVOCACY Cash for Containers The national debate about best practice recycling of beverage containers continued to gain momentum. Community trials of refund schemes met with great enthusiasm, individuals and groups responded well to calls for action that included contacting their local MP or state Premier. In 2015 we were proud to stand next to the then New South Wales Environment Minister, Rob Stokes, as he announced a scheme would be implemented in that state in 2017. The Australian Capital Territory pledged to come on board at the same time. During 2016 we actively participated in EPA run workshops alongside Environment Minister Mark Speakman, stakeholders and community groups to debate and negotiate the best possible infrastructure for that scheme. In 2016 we were invited to join the Premier’s advisory panel for Queensland as the local Environment Protection Authority considered implementation of a scheme for its communities. As a result of that process, Environment Minister Steven Miles announced that Queensland would follow NSW and implement a sister scheme in 2018. Western Australia also announced they would follow suit that year. Which leaves Victoria and Tasmania as the last states to come on board for a national scheme. We will continue to support communities with the call for an incentive based solution with a proven track record of diverting recyclables from landfill and keeping them out of our precious environment. Join us
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S ay N O t o p l a s t i c b a g s Clean Up Australia has been actively advocating for the ban of single use plastic bags for nearly two decades. Across the country Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania have all banned lightweight single use singlet style plastic bags at the checkout. Bag bans have produced mixed results with banning a bag under 35 microns often resulting in production of a bag at 40 micons. Not the best solution. In conjunction with the Boomerang Alliance and other stakeholder groups, Clean Up has been calling for a ban of bags under the thickness of a department store style of bag [70 microns]. While we continue to prefer banning of all plastic bags, regardless of weight, we have agreed to base our efforts on this thickness as being the better outcome due to lesser chances of a heavier bag entering the environment, being blown around or floating. In 2016 we were delighted to support Queensland’s Environment Minister Steven Miles, when he announced that his state would take the lead for an eastern seaboard solution. Based on the South Australian model, the bag thickness level will be under 35 microns – reflective of the desire to have a national outcome. We acknowledge this desire, but pledge to continue to work for a national thickness increase as the next stage of ridding our environment of plastic bags. In the meantime, we continue to work with New South Wales communities as they push for reform of plastic bag usage in their state. Which again leaves Victoria dragging the chain – and a focus for the coming 12 months.
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Bottled Water For many years, Australians relied exclusively on rain or tap water for drinking. Now that consumers are turning to bottled water as the healthy and ‘pure’ alternative to tap water, are we really just wasting our money and the environment? Consumers may claim that bottled water is convenient and that it tastes better than tap water. It is also marketed as the healthy alternative to sugared drinks and as the most ‘pure’ available water. But the health arguments for bottled water are overstated. The choice is not one between sugared drinks and bottled water, but between bottled and tap water. There is no evidence that bottled water is more ‘pure’ than tap water, but plenty of evidence to suggest that bottled water is costly: both to the hip pocket and to the environment. Spring water is extracted from underground aquifers upstream from where the water surfaces. This disrupts aquifer flow, affecting flora and fauna. Most bottled water is packaged in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles which are derived from crude oil. It can take up to 3L of water to produce 1L of water. Transportation of bottled water around the world requires burning of fossil fuels. Although plastic bottles are recyclable, many end up in landfill and take up to 1000 years to break down. When littered they often end up in the sea where they break up in small pieces, killing marine life that mistake them for food. The best thing to do is to avoid bottled water. Australian tap water is world standard drinking water so it is the safe, cheap and sustainable option. Install a tap filter if you are concerned about the taste or quality of your local tap water. Buy a good quality reusable bottle – there is a great range available from camping stores and other retailers or you can find a filtered version on our website.
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FUNDING Clean Up Australia is owned by YOU. While we work with the government of the day, we have a policy of remaining separated from political influence, allowing us to truly be the voice of the community we represent. Our funding is provided by business partnerships and private donations. On the business front we enjoy association with a number of like-minded organisations that provide funds and/or in-kind assistance for our campaigns, projects and initiatives. When an organisation partners with Clean Up they undertake to improve their own environmental practices. Since1989 we have witnessed some exciting public outcomes and a significant investment in infrastructure which is often not as apparent to the community. We congratulate our partners for their commitment to continuous improvement and look forward to being able to celebrate more of their achievements with their stakeholders.
Our funding partners 2015/16 Clean Up Australia Day 2015 - Major Partners: The Commonwealth Bank, Shop-A-Docket - Founding Partner: McDonald’s - Partner: Australian Government National Landcare Programme - Suppliers: Paramount Safety Products [gloves] Look Print [signage], Becton Dickinson [sharps containers] and we welcomed Storage King [storage space in Woolloomooloo, Sydney] Clean Up Australia Day 2016 - Major partner: Shop-A-Docket - Founding Partner: McDonald’s - Corporate partner: Cleanaway - Partner: Australian Government National Landcare Programme - Suppliers: Australia Post, Look Print [signage], Becton Dickinson [sharps containers] and Storage King. Corporate Partners - Luxmy Furniture [donation of office space in Darlinghurst, Sydney] - Kyocera - Lenovo Product Licensing - DUX – environmental range of water heaters (2015). - Coles – Green Choice products - ARP – mobile phone recycling - MYER – mybag
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FUNDING In addition to the funds provided or raised by our campaign, community and corporate partners, Clean Up is the grateful recipient of professional pro-bono services from a number of organisations. We thank; Adstream for their continued support with distribution of electronic advertising distribution, Hunt & Hunt for the care and attention we receive on legal matters, Ernst & Young for their auditing services and advice on financial systems, Google for AdWords advertising, and GreenBizCheck as our ‘Business Supporter’ partner. In 2015 Clean Up was promised funding by way of an election commitment from the then Opposition. Upon gaining office the government fulfilled this promise with a grant allocated for clean up materials provision 2015-2017. We are grateful to Environment Minister Greg Hunt for this commitment, noting the Minister has been an active Clean Up participant in his own electorate for decades. In 2016 we welcomed Australia Post as a Clean Up Australia Day supplier. The national carrier provides us with a cash donation plus subsidised postage of Clean Up kits and other parcel post all year round. In May of the same year Cleanaway joined the team. In 2016 they are denoted as a Corporate Partner, converting to major sponsorship of Clean Up Australia Day 2017-2019. We look forward to working with their teams nationally as we Clean Up with Cleanaway. A number of employees support Clean Up through payroll giving and we thank the management and staff of Citigroup, Origin, Qantas, The Smiths Snackfood Company, Morgan Stanley and Kimberley Clark for their donations. Our members and regular donors are important members of the Clean Up family. To them and the growing number of individuals, foundations and organisations which have raised money for us or who have supported us with one-off donations we renew our pledge that 100% of all donations received by Clean Up are directly deployed to delivery of community based campaigns and projects. We also enjoy a unique position with local government nationally and we remain grateful to them for their guidance and support.
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FUNDING 2015 FINANCIAL YEAR 2015 Income
Total: $1,404,950
Corporate sponsorship: $459,081 Donations : $116,181 In-kind contributions: $691,968 Government grant: $100,000 Revenue from merchandise sales: $35,015 Other revenue: $2,257
Total: $1,357,975
Cost of Business 1 000k
800k
600k
400k
200k
0k Campaign delivery: $767,164
Administration: $246,372
Fundraising: $292,605
Cost of Business:
Insurances: $36,991
Travel: $14,844
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FUNDING 2016 FINANCIAL YEAR 2016 Income
Total: $1,351,159
Donations : $275,820* [includes donation offsetting rent] In-kind contributions: $552,716 Government grant: $100,000 Revenue from merchandise sales: $32,545 Other revenue: $26,247
Cost of Business
Total: $1,402,237
800k
600k
400k
200k
0k Campaign delivery: $740,655
Administration: $300,656
Fundraising: $313,351
Insurances: $36,034
Travel: $11,541
Cost of Business
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TEAM CLEAN UP Executive Ian Kiernan AO – Executive Chairman Terrie-Ann Johnson – Managing Director CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY 2015 Danielle Johnson – Community Nathan Tree – Youth Tara Howard – Business Teo Tong – Customer service Marketing and Communications Sandrine Vullierme – Marketing Officer Tracey Wigg - Publicist CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY 2016 Daisy Kelly – Community Francesca Grant – Youth Doug Clarke – Business Matt Pettit – Customer Service Marketing and Communications Sandrine Vullierme – Marketing Officer Tracey Wigg - Publicist 2015 Office Volunteers Faraimie Bellosillo Romayne Braid Soujanya Deegutla Tina Fang Zev Fink Suzan Ghali Everett Leeson Ximena Marky Anne-Marie O’Doherty David O’Reilly Martin Sejas Samiti Sood Quang Thanh Truong Kuai Yu Swapna Vatte 2016 Office Volunteers Chanmdra Banerjee Romayne Braid Dania Natalia Gunawan Everett Leeson Eloudie Mounoussamy Srabanty Shaon
Jay Tongsinoon Irene Wu Everett Leeson Eloudie Mounoussamy Srabanty Shaon Jay Tongsinoon Irene Wu BOARD OF DIRECTORS Executive Chairman Ian Kiernan AO Company Secretary Terrie-Ann Johnson Directors Terrie-Ann Johnson Graham Woodlock Bruce Kerridge [appointed 11 August 2016] Honorary Lawyers Hunt & Hunt Honorary Auditors Ernst & Young
Contact Us: Clean Up Australia Limited 193 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst NSW 2010 Web: www.cleanup.org.au www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au Email: cleanup@cleanup.com.au Tel: +61 2 8197 3400 1800 CUA DAY [1800 282 329] 34
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