Rubbish Rangers of Aireys Inlet By Jenna Crawford
Whether it be empty beer bottles, used disposable nappies, condoms, dog-poo bags, men's underwear, cigarette butts, polystyrene or, more recently, used facial masks, the 3231 Rubbish Rangers are winning their fight against litter in Aireys Inlet. The community Facebook page ‘3231 Surfcoast Connection’ alerted Aireys Inlet residents to the need to do something about the increasing amount of rubbish littering their beautiful seaside town.
Aireys Inlet District Association (AIDA) donated $1000 to the Rubbish Rangers, enabling them to purchase some essential items, including high-vis vests for better safety, pick-up sticks to reach otherwise unreachable rubbish, safety signs, carry bags and gloves for personal hygiene.
The initiative was the brainwave of Glenys Drayton, and started with four or five locals. It has now grown to an average of 20 committed volunteers who turn up each Saturday morning for 90 minutes, weather permitting, to clean up the local area. Rubbish Rangers are allocated certain areas around town, which could be the sides of the Great Ocean Road, the shopping precincts, along the cliff walk and bush or beach areas. This group is not only made up of retirees who love to contribute to their community, but also includes fully employed people such as doctors, journalists, teachers, councillors and artists. At the completion of their weekly ‘clean-up’, they meet at a local coffee shop where the conversation is always lively.
They also had a logo designed and printed . With just the change of a postcode number, this logo can be adapted to suit any other town.
local or state government funding to cover waste disposal fees. The Rangers take as much of the rubbish home with them as they can, and dispose of it in their own waste bins to be collected by the Surf Coast Shire Council’s kerbside service. Aireys Inlet Big 4 Holiday Park generously offered the group the opportunity to use their skip bin outside of peak season, which was gratefully accepted.
Some people in neighbouring Anglesea have been so impressed with the work undertaken by the 3231 Rubbish Rangers that they would like to see a similar group established in their town. Anyone wanting further information can contact Glenys by email: glenys.drayton@gmail.com There is a strong parallel between litter and higher incidences of graffiti and crime. One small step may help in the latter two cases. We live in a beautiful part of our country, so let's try and keep it that way.
A camaraderie has developed between the group and they highly value and respect the contribution each one makes. Based on the type of litter collected, sadly, much of the dumped rubbish cannot be attributed to tourists only. Some of it comes from tradies utes, overflowing rubbish bins, cyclists and, unfortunately, deliberately thrown litter from cars. VicRoads is responsible for the maintenance and tidiness along the Great Ocean Road, but this does not translate to the cleaning up of litter, so the Rubbish Rangers have taken on the cause. It is not unusual for the Rangers to have collected enough dumped rubbish on a Saturday to fill a trailer. Unfortunately, a trailer is not available, and there is no 16
The Rubbish Rangers gather each Saturday morning in Aireys Inlet and surrounds to clean up the local area — followed by coffee and plenty of conversation afterwards. NewsAngle | Publication of the Anglesea Community House | Community Houses are for Everyone
