RUBBISH REPORT
2014
Table Of Contents INTRODUCTION
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · Sites Surveyed · Rubbish Sources TOP TEN
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SITE TYPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · Most Surveyed METHODOLOGY
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RETURNED VALID SURVEYS BY STATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RETURNED VALID SURVEYS BY SITE TYPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOP TEN RUBBISH ITEMS
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MAJOR SOURCES OF RUBBISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HISTORICAL COMPARISON TRENDS MAJOR SOURCES OF RUBBISH · Plastic · Miscellaneous Items · Metal and Aluminium · Paper and Cardboard · Glass · Expanded Polystyrene · Wood · Rubber SITE RUBBISH COMPOSITION
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THE GREAT NORTHERN CLEAN UP 2014
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THANKS to our Sponsors and Supporters
03 04 06 08 09 10 10 11 12 13 14
22 23
03
Introduction In 2014 Clean Up focused community attention on ‘Put Yourself in the Picture’ – leveraging Australian’s desire to be seen taking action to remove accumulated rubbish across 6,346 Clean Up Day, 66 Great Northern Clean Up [north of the Tropic of Capricorn] and 320 Everyday Clean Up sites nationally. An estimated 493,435 volunteers removed around 14,784 tonnes of rubbish in 2014. Over the last quarter of a century volunteers have donated more than 27.2 million hours towards caring for the environment through Clean Up Australia Day, by removing the equivalent of 288,650 ute loads of rubbish from 145,754 sites across the country. This Rubbish Report is a snapshot of the rubbish they removed from our parks, schools, bushland, creeks, beaches and roadways in 2014. Consistent with 2013, beverage containers and their associated rubbish have outstripped cigarette butts and their associated rubbish as the Number One rubbish group within the National Top 10. In 2014 beverage containers represented 34.05% of plastics [47.8 in 2013], 87% of metals [69.5% in 2013] and 92% of glass [an increase of 16% over last year]. Clean Up Day, Everyday sites and the Great Northern Clean Up would not be possible without the generous financial support of our sponsors. Our 2014 major sponsor was the Commonwealth Bank. McDonald’s, and Qantas continued their support as sponsors, Shop-A-Docket, News Corporation, Becton Dickinson, Look Print and Paramount Safety Products remained active suppliers. It is also important to recognise the vital support that Clean Up volunteers receive from local government. In 2014, 368 Councils actively supported their communities. This is the 24th Rubbish Report produced by Clean Up Australia.
04 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Rubbish Report is a snapshot of rubbish removed on Clean Up Australia Day. 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 rubbish.
05
Sites Surveyed • 1,875 End of Clean Up Reports were returned from 6,732 sites nationally. Of these 551 recorded valid data for analysis • A total of 194,137 rubbish items were reported • Content from a total of 2,400 bags, representing 39.45% of rubbish at survey sites was counted
194,137 rubbish items were reported
• New South Wales (NSW) returned the highest number of valid surveys (261), followed by Queensland (142) and Victoria (134) • Parks were the most popular survey sites in 2014, followed by residential roadways, rivers/creeks/waterways, beaches and coastal areas, bushland and other [non identified] locations.
Rubbish Sources Plastic was the most common item, representing 30% [36% in 2013] of all rubbish items removed. This is the 20th year that plastic has dominated the ‘Major Sources of Rubbish’. Chips and confectionery wrappers, PET drink containers, bottle caps & lids, were the top three plastic items removed.
PLASTIC represented 30% of all rubbish
Miscellaneous items held the second spot in 2014 – recording 22% of all rubbish reported. This was an 8% increase on 2013. Within this category, cigarette butts dominated, representing 19.93% of all rubbish reported [11% in 2013]. This could be due to a focus by volunteers in removing butts due to the potential to recycle via a collection process introduced in 2014. Metals took third position in 2014 at 14%. This was 1% down on last year. The most common metal items were soft drink and alcoholic beverage containers, representing 3.28 and 3.26 percent of all reported rubbish. These sources were followed by paper at 13% [consistent with 2013], glass at 12% [down 2% on 2013], polystyrene at 6% [5% last year], wood 2% and rubber 1% [both consistent with 2013].
06 TOP TEN
THE TOP 10
RUBBISH ITEMS
Clean Up Australia Day 2014
Grouped data 2014
as a percentage of all rubbish were:
ALL CONFECTIONERY WRAPPERS
4%
SMALL PIECES OF PAPER
6
7%
8 3%
GARBAGE RUBBISH BAGS
FAST FOOD PACKAGING
3 4
CIGARETTE BUTTS
5
BEVERAGE CONTAINER RUBBISH
1% MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
9
8%
22%
11%
7 3%
10
POLYSTYRENE PIECES
PLASTIC PACKAGING
2
25
%
1%
1
BEVERAGE CONTAINERS
07
• The Top Ten grouped items represent 84.37% of all rubbish surveyed in 2014 • Top Ten raw data represents 54% of all reported rubbish for the year [73% in 2013] • Consistent with 2013, beverage containers and their associated rubbish at 36% have outstripped cigarette butts as the Number 1 item within the Grouped National Top 10. Within the raw data Top 10, beverage container rubbish represented 20% of the count
• Nine of the Top Ten items are now recyclable • All Top Ten items are packaging related • Five of the Top Ten raw data items were related to beverage containers
TOP TEN RUBBISH ITEMS (RAW DATA) Top 10
Item Description
Percentage
1
Cigarette butts
2
Glass alcoholic beverage bottles
5.40
3
Plastic chips and confectionery wrappers
4.65
4
PET drink containers
4.03
5
Plastic bottle caps and lids
4.02
6
Small pieces of paper
3.70
7
Metal soft drink bottle
3.28
8
Metal alcoholic beverage
3.26
9
Polystyrene pieces
2.97
10
Metal foil/confectionery wrappers
2.65
19.93
08 SITE TYPES
Site Types AUSTRALIA
Site type
Number of sites
Number of items found
% Of states total waste
Average number of items per site
Parks
156
33,895.5
14
217
Suburban Roadways
132
60,439.0
25
458
River/Creek/Waterways
113
31,385.1
13
278
Beach/Coastal
94
38,095.9
16
405
Public Bushland
89
28,708.0
12
323
Other
52
17,125.0
7
329
School Grounds
46
3,077.0
1
67
Shops/malls
18
9,756.9
4
542
Dive Site
3
770.0
0
257
Outdoor Transport
2
18,419.9
8
9,210
Most Surveyed Site Types 1.
PARKS
2.
ROADWAYS
3.
RIVER / CREEK / WATERWAY
4.
BEACH/ COASTAL
5.
PUBLIC BUSHLAND
6.
OTHER
7.
SCHOOL GROUNDS
8.
SHOPS/MALLS
9.
DIVE SITES
10. OUTDOOR TRANSPORT
While parks were the most popular site surveyed in 2014, the two outdoor transport sites recorded the highest average number of rubbish items @ 9,210. This was a dramatic increase of 8,217 over 2013 when the average count was 993 across 14 sites. Three other site types recorded increases in their average rubbish item count for 2014: • Parks recorded a modest increase from 211 across 246 sites to 217 across 156 sites • Roadways increased their average item count to 458 across 132 locations [436 across 204 in 2013] • Shops/malls rose to 542 items across 18 sites versus 460 across 28 sites All other site types recorded a reduced average item count this year: • Rivers/creeks recorded a modest decrease of 11 across 113 sites @ 278 items. Count in 2013 was 289 across 148 sites • Beach/coastal areas decreased their average count to 405 across 94 sites in 2014; last year the count was 656 items across 105 sites • Bushland average count decreased to 323 across 89 surveyed sites [341 across 109 sites in 2013] • School Grounds recorded an average of 67 across 46 sites versus 230 across 41 sites last year • Dive sites average decreased from 8,751 from 1 site to 257 across 3 sites. Interesting items found in 2014 included assorted construction debris, much of which was usable; decorations from a wedding recently held near the site; motor cycle trousers; one very quiet black hen; a walking frame; iphone and headsets; a wallet containing credit cards [dutifully handed over to the police]; drug paraphernalia; a Christmas tree sans decorations; fire extinguishers; various items of furniture; bedding; and oversized tyres.
09
METHODOLOGY The figures presented in the Rubbish Report are based on a sample of Clean Up Sites, where data is collected by our dedicated volunteers. Rubbish Report Survey Forms are issued in Clean Up kits as part of the End of Clean Up Report. In 2014 the Report was also offered as an on-line option, attracting 30 respondents. The survey requires those taking part to identify and count a proportion of the rubbish removed from their site. Volunteers are asked to survey one in five bags of rubbish removed, with a maximum of six bags surveyed per site. However, a number of site coordinators survey a greater proportion. In 2014, volunteers were again asked to separate their rubbish into recyclable and nonrecyclable items, with the provision of ‘yellow’ and ‘white’ bags. The intention is to encourage recycling of rubbish where possible. Volunteers are asked to record a representative sample from both types of bags. We introduced the option of separating cigarette butts for recycling this year. While volunteer response to the concept was enthusiastic, feedback encouraged us to refine the collection mechanism to make it easier to use on site. Each site surveyed is classified by the category that best describes its location. The categories are: Beaches/Coastal, Outdoor Transport areas, Parks, Public Bushland, River/Creek, Roadway, School Grounds, Shop/Mall and Other. The Rubbish Report survey form lists a total of 82 specific waste items grouped by type of source material, with 11 ‘other’ categories in each section for those items which do not fit easily within the list. ‘Other’ items are carefully analysed to capture a numeric value. Source categories are: plastic (further divided into plastic bags, plastic bottles/ containers and plastic miscellaneous), polystyrene, glass, rubber, paper/cardboard, metal/aluminium (further divided into metal/aluminium cans and metal/aluminium miscellaneous), wood and miscellaneous. The Rubbish Report is a snapshot of information to show trends over time of rubbish removed at Clean Up sites during Clean Up Australia Day, the Great Northern Clean Up and Everyday Clean Up sites. It is not intended to be a definitive survey representing all rubbish found in all Australian environments.
10 RETURNED VALID SURVEYS
Returned valid surveys by state The ‘Returned Valid Surveys by State’ chart shows the number of valid Rubbish Report surveys received from each State. New South Wales returned the highest number of valid surveys [261], Queensland returned the second highest number [142] and Victoria [134]
261
NSW QLD
142 134
VIC
68
SA
55
WA
29
TAS
14
ACT NT
2
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Returned valid surveys by sItes The ‘Returned Valid Surveys by Site Type’ chart shows the number of valid Rubbish Report surveys received from each site type. Of the 929 valid surveys returned, the most surveyed site type parks, made up 27.6% of all sites, while the least surveyed site type, dive sites made up less than 0.1% of all sites.
River/Creek/ Waterways/Water storage
113 156
Parks
94
Beach/Coastal
132
Roadway
89
Bushland
46
School Grounds
2
Outdoor Transport
18
Shops/malls
3
Dive Site
52
Other
0
50
100
150
200
11
The TOP TEN Rubbish Items 1% 3%1% 3% 4%
25%
7% 8%
11%
22%
1st
Beverage containers
6th
Small pieces of paper
2nd
Cigarette butts
7th
Polystyrene pieces
3rd
Beverage container rubbish
8th
Garbage rubbish bags
4th
Fast food packaging
9th
Other miscellaneous items
5th
All confectionary wrappers
10th
Plastic packaging
The chart above shows the Top Ten rubbish items, displayed here as a percentage of each. Consistent with 2013, beverage containers and their associated rubbish have outstripped cigarette butts as the Number 1 grouped item within the National Top 10. In 2014 beverage containers and their associated rubbish made up 36% of all rubbish counted.
Within the Top 10, beverage rubbish represented 43% of the count. Cigarette butts rose by 9% Chips/confectionary wrappers remained consistent. Fast food packaging represented just over 8% of reported rubbish.
12 MAJOR SOURCES OF RUBBISH
Major Sources Of Rubbish The ‘Major Sources of Rubbish’ chart below shows the types of rubbish surveyed along with their proportion of the total rubbish.
Miscellaneous
22% 2%
Wood
Metal
30% 14%
6% 13% Paper
Plastics
Polystyrene
12% Glass
1% Rubber
Summary PLASTIC
EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE
Over the entire 24 years of Clean Up Australia Day, plastics have remained the dominant waste item found. This year, plastics made up 30% of all rubbish removed by volunteers [36% in 2013].
Expanded polystyrene represented 6% of rubbish removed in 2014 – up 1% on the previous year. Of the total polystyrene items, food packaging made up 32% [a decrease of 12% on last year]. Small pieces took out the single item top spot at 53.6% [up17.6%], with packaging reflecting 14.4% of polystyrene surveyed [18% in 2013].
MISCELLANEOUS Cigarette butts continue to be the largest miscellaneous waste item found, representing 90% of all miscellaneous items. This was an increase of 5% over 2013. Other miscellaneous items of significance included food scraps, clothing and unidentified items. METAL AND ALUMUNIUM In 2014 metals were the third largest category, representing 14% of all rubbish items. Beverage containers and their caps [alcoholic and soft drink] represented 63.5% of all metal rubbish. PAPER Paper represented 13% of all waste removed, consistent with 2013. Food packaging represented 44% in 2014, down 7% on last year. Small pieces of paper was again the single most reported paper item at 27.9%, up by 8.5% on 2013. GLASS Glass dropped from third place in 2013 [down 2%]. Alcohol and soft drink bottles were once again the dominant form of glass, making up 92% of the total [76.2% in 2013]. Broken glass represented 21.2% of all glass reported [19.8% in 2013].
WOOD At 2% wood was consistent with 2013. Ice cream sticks continue to top the wood table @ 40%, down 7% on last year, followed by construction waste [22.5%] and small pieces of wood @ 18% [construction and small pieces both = 19% in 2013]. RUBBER In 2013 rubber was the smallest category of waste at 1% and remains in this position in 2014. The most significant rubber item found was tyres, which accounted for 33% of all rubber items [31% in 2013] removed followed by thongs/shoes @ 23.6% [29% in 2013].
13
Historical Comparison The following table shows the historical change in the percentage of each rubbish type reported by volunteers. Beginning in 1991, the graph demonstrates the composition of rubbish removed across Australia.
Year
Plastics
Foam/ Glass Polystyrene
Rubber
Paper
Metals
Wood
Misc.
Total Items
1991
35.0
8.6
14.4
1.5
13.6
14.3
2.8
9.6
100.0
1992
26.8
9.5
17.1
1.2
24.9
11.9
3.7
4.8
100.0
1993
40.8
7.7
13.3
1.0
18.9
13.9
1.7
2.8
100.0
1994
41.4
6.3
13.0
0.7
21.6
12.3
2.0
2.6
100.0
1995
31.2
4.0
10.3
0.7
24.9
18.1
3.0
7.8
100.0
1996
33.4
8.7
10.1
1.3
19.9
13.6
1.8
11.2
100.0
1997
27.0
7.5
14.7
1.0
18.3
17.9
2.3
11.2
100.0
1998
29.1
6.6
13.4
1.2
19.5
14.5
2.4
13.3
100.0
1999
36.0
6.8
12.3
1.4
15.0
13.6
1.9
13.0
100.0
2000
32.1
4.9
10.1
1.2
15.2
19.1
2.5
14.9
100.0
2001
33.7
4.8
12.1
1.2
13.8
15.2
2.0
17.2
100.0
2002
33.4
6.9
11.8
1.2
14.1
14.1
2.3
16.2
100.0
2003
36.0
3.5
11.8
1.3
17.7
15.2
1.7
12.7
100.0
2004
37.3
4.8
11.8
1.0
12.7
13.5
1.9
17.0
100.0
2005
32.0
5.0
14.0
1.0
15.0
12.0
2.0
19.0
100.0
2006
33.7
5.2
11.7
1.8
15.9
13.2
2.1
16.4
100.0
2007
33.1
4.4
15.5
2.3
15.1
13.4
1.8
14.4
100.0
2008
31.7
4.8
13.1
1.7
12.6
14.6
3.8
17.7
100.0
2009
28.5
3.5
16.4
1.4
12.7
17.5
2.2
17.8
100.0
2010
31.3
7.7
10.5
1.1
14.7
12.4
1.1
21.2
100.0
2011
32.0
3.9
14.0
1.2
11.3
14.2
1.5
22.0
100.0
2012
38.3
4.9
13.3
1.7
11.2
15.7
1.4
13.5
100.0
2013
36.0
5.4
13.7
1.2
12.8
15.4
1.5
14.0
100.0
2014
30.1
5.6
12.1
1.3
13.3
14.0
1.5
22.1
100.0
YOY +/- %
–16%
4%
–12%
8%
4%
–9%
0%
5 Year Rolling Average
33.5
5.5
12.7
1.3
12.7
14.3
1.4
18.6
Vs Rolling Average
–10%
2%
–5%
0%
5%
–2%
8%
19%
10 Year Rolling Average
32.7
5.0
13.4
1.5
13.5
14.2
1.9
17.8
Trends
58% 100.0
100.0
14 MAJOR SOURCES OF RUBBISH
Major Sources of Rubbish Analysis of Each Category
PLASTICS Beverage Rubbish
13079
Beverage Containers
11614
Plastic Bags
14727
Chips & Confectionery
7828
Food Packaging
5498
Packaging
4062
Other Items
5474
Toys & Sporting
807
Other Bottles
944
Cigarette Lighters
566
Sanitary Items
304
0
SERIES 1
3000
6000
Plastics are made from non-renewable oil based resources. Plastics removed on Clean Up Australia Day are not biodegradable and would, if left in situ, survive in the environment for hundreds of years. At best, plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces – which is actually a worse environmental outcome, with smaller pieces entering the food chain earlier.
In 2014 plastic was once again the dominant waste type reported by volunteers. Rating at 30% of all rubbish removed, plastics represented 86,906 surveyed items.
9000
12000
15000
A total of 29 different forms of plastic waste are categorised in the rubbish survey, they have been regrouped for the graph. Beverage containers and their associated rubbish ranked #1 reflecting 42.2% of all plastic items removed. Beverage rubbish came in at 22.3%, just behind plastic bags at 25%. Beverage containers represented 19.8% of all plastic rubbish reported. This is a decrease of 4.6% over 2013. Food packaging, including confectionery wrappers, represented 22.78%, an 11% decrease on 2013. Other packaging, including plastic bags, strapping and crates represented 20.7% of all reported plastics.
15
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS Food Scraps
1118
Clothing
862
Other Items
558
Car/machinery Parts
356
Ceramics
259
Syringes
249
Batteries
248
Furniture
211
Shopping Trolleys
186
E-waste
112
Carpet
110
0
200
SERIES 1
400
600
800
1000
1200
42,957 miscellaneous items were recorded in 2014 surveys. This is an increase of 9,198 over the previous year. Cigarette butts continue to dominate this category – representing 90% [39,688 items] of the rubbish removed. This is not shown on the graph Food scraps took out second spot in 2014 [1,118 items], followed by clothing [862 items] and miscellaneous other items [558 items]. E-waste items dropped in 2014, surveys reporting 112 items, [137 in 2013].
42,957 miscellaneous items were recorded in 2014 surveys
16 MAJOR SOURCES OF RUBBISH
METAL AND ALUMINIUM Soft Drink Bottle
6376
Alcoholic Beverage
6334
Foil/confectionery Wrappers
5137
Bottle Caps
4578
Pipe
1216
Other
775
Large Pieces
503
Construction Materials
470
Aerosol Cans
422
Small Pieces
412
Food Containers
369
Wire
340
Appliances
112
Paint Tins
112
44 Gallon Drums
44
0
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
As a percentage of all rubbish removed by volunteers in 2014, metals were 1% down on 2013. Beverage containers continue to be the dominant sources of metal waste. Soft drink, alcohol containers, their caps and lids represent 63.5% of all metal waste removed [69.5% in 2013]. The next most significant single item type was confectionary wrappers at 18.8% [15.7% in 2013], followed by construction materials pipe/other metals/large pieces and construction materials at 10.8% [6.2% last year].
27,200 metal items were recorded in 2014.
27,200 metal items were recorded in 2014.
17
PAPER AND CARDBOARD Small Paper Pieces
7192
Fast Food Packaging
3231
Cigarette Packets
2747
Napkins And Tissues
2188
Cups
1810
Bags
1768
Newspapers/books/magazines
1751
Drink Cartoons
1562
Boxes
1162
Other
1091
Large
561
Milk Cartons
550
Wine Casks
84
Egg Cartons
56
0
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
27,753 paper and cardboard items were counted in 2014. The majority of paper waste removed was again ‘Small Paper’ at 27.9% [up 8.5% on 2013]. Cumulatively food and drink packaging is a key source of paper rubbish. Fast food packaging, napkins and tissues, paper cups, drink cartons, milk cartons, wine casks and egg cartons constituted 36.8 % of all paper surveyed [51% in 2013].
27,753 paper and cardboard items were counted in 2014
Cigarette packets were the third most reported single paper/cardboard item [2,747 items]. This is a decrease of 23.26% over last year.
18 MAJOR SOURCES OF RUBBISH
GLASS Alcoholic Beverage Bottles
10474
Soft Drink Bottles
5114
Pieces
5009
Other
1120
Fruit Juice Bottles
1081
Food Jars
659
Light Globes
54
SERIES 1
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000 12000
In 2014, glass accounted for 12% of surveyed items, down 1.7% on 2013.
Whole beverage containers accounted for 70.9% of glass counted in 2014. This was 8.1% less than the 2013 count.
Volunteers counted
23,511 glass items in 2014.
Broken glass accounted for 21.3% of rubbish reported, up 1.6% on last year. Volunteers counted 23,511 glass items in their 2014 Rubbish Surveys.
19
EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE Pieces
5775
Fast Food Containers
1975
Plates And Cups
1472
Packaging
1340
Other
208
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000 SERIES 1
Expanded polystyrene accounted for 6% of the rubbish removed in 2014, an increase of nearly 1%.
Polystyrene fast food containers and cups/plates accounted for
32% of reported rubbish
Expanded polystyrene is categorised separately from all other plastics due to the unique environmental hazards it poses. Composed of around 95% air, polystyrene is highly mobile with the potential to travel long distances. Its soft structure means it’s likely to fragment into pieces and can harm wildlife upon ingestion. The high likelihood of breaking into smaller pieces can be seen with 53.6% of all expanded polystyrene found being either partially or completely fragmented. This was an increase of 16.6% on 2013 figures.
Polystyrene fast food containers and cups/plates accounted for 32% of reported rubbish, followed by packaging at 12.4% and unidentifiable items at 1.9%. Volunteers recorded a total 10,770 items of polystyrene.
20 MAJOR SOURCES OF RUBBISH
WOOD Ice Cream Sticks
1162
Construction Materials
646
Pieces
520
Other
384
Bottle Corks
158
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200 SERIES 1
At 2% of reported items, wood was the second least likely rubbish type removed in 2014. Consistent with previous years, ice cream sticks were the most widely reported item accounting for 40.4% of all wood items found [47.2% in 2013]. Construction materials represented 22.5% of surveyed items this year, a 3.5% increase over 2013.
40.4% of all wood items found were ice cream sticks
These were followed by wood pieces at 18.1% [19.1% in 2013].
Bottle corks still make their presence felt at 13.4% of reported wood; suggestive of outdoor celebrations. Surveys reported 2,870 wood items nationally.
21
RUBBER 1000 800 600 400 200
Condoms
Rubber Gloves
Other
Thongs/shoes
Tyres
0
SERIES 1
In 2014 rubber accounted for 1% of rubbish reported – a reduction of 0.2% over 2013. Tyres were the most common rubber item removed at 33% [31% in 2013]. This was followed by thongs/shoes at 23.6% [29.2% in 2013] and other rubbish items @ 19.9%.
A total of 2,580 rubber items were recorded in 2014 surveys.
22 SITE RUBBISH COMPOSITION
Site Rubbish Composition The following table outlines the proportions of different types of rubbish removed from each site as a percentage of all rubbish reported.
Rivers
Parks
Beach Coastal
Roadway
Public Bushland
30.31
26.58
29.12
25.76
27.58
4.95
6.13
6.96
5.66
17.10
10.08
8.66
Rubber
1.45
1.09
Paper/cardboard
9.90
Metals Wood
Plastic Polystyrene Glass
Miscellaneous Total
School Grounds
Outdoor Transport
Shops Malls
Dive
Other
37.77
39.52
33.49
50.00
40.17
5.32
3.85
2.50
14.44
10.78
9.86
15.31
13.89
10.55
11.67
7.53
16.23
10.46
1.33
1.32
1.98
1.10
0.42
2.09
0.52
1.20
11.34
9.27
14.94
19.96
14.51
22.62
17.25
0.00
12.60
16.16
12.91
13.31
15.07
14.91
13.00
7.25
12.26
20.91
14.81
0.98
1.22
1.04
1.50
1.47
2.15
1.10
2.00
0.00
1.14
19.15
30.65
30.31
20.44
14.89
17.07
14.92
10.94
1.56
9.75
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
[*It should be noted there were only 3 dive sites surveyed]
Plastics were the dominant material removed by volunteers, averaging 34.03% across all site types. This is a 4.76% decrease on 2013. Miscellaneous items averaged 16.97% across all sites, with the highest counts being in beach/coastal areas and on roadways. Metals [average 14.06%] were predominantly found in waterways, dive sites and rivers. There was also a high proportion reported from roadway clean ups. Paper and cardboard [average 13.24%] are most likely to be found at outdoor transport areas, bushland and shops/malls. Small pieces of paper account for the highest proportion of this rubbish.
2014 Sponsors and Supporters
Glass, which averaged 12.15% across all sites, was predominantly found in rivers, dive sites and on roadways. Whole glass bottles and containers made up 66.3% of all glass reported. Polystyrene averaged 7.05% across all sites. Small pieces are the main contributor to this count. Bushland was the main site at which rubber was reported [average 1.25%]. The major item was tyres. Wood [average 1.26%] in the form of icecream sticks was most likely to be reported from school sites.
A round of applause is due to our generous funders and suppliers: • Major Sponsor: The Commonwealth Bank • Sponsors: McDonald’s, the Qantas Foundation, • Suppliers: Paramount Safety Products [gloves], News Corporation, Shop-A-Docket, Look Print [signage], Becton Dickinson [sharps containers]
23
The Great Northern Clean Up 2014 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.
North of the Tropic of Capricorn, in its first five years an estimated 23,416 volunteers removed around 1,405 tonnes of rubbish from 636 registered sites. In 2014 the event took place over the second weekend of September. Across Australia, a total of 17,002 volunteers had already removed around 671 tonnes of rubbish from 305 sites between the end of March and that weekend of action. Over 13-14 September an additional 1,874 volunteers removes an estimated 145.2 tonnes of rubbish from 66 sites across northern Western Australia, the Territory and Queensland. State by state volunteers achieved: NT: 84 sites, approximately 5,242 volunteers, estimated 192 tonnes of rubbish removed. QLD: 213 sites, approximately 10,780 volunteers, an estimated 468.6 tonnes of rubbish removed. WA: 74 sites, approximately 2,854 volunteers, estimated 162.8 tonnes of rubbish removed.
Congratulations to all of our most northern volunteers and the squads of Green Nomads who have put themselves in the picture in 2014. A special thank you to the Councils who work with us in supporting all of their efforts.
Clean Up Australia Ltd 193 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst NSW 2010 cleanup@ cleanup.com.au Clean Up Australia Day Clean Up Australia Clean Up the World
1800 282 329 +61 2 8197 3400 +61 2 8197 3420
www.cleanup.org.au