2020-2021
REVIEW OF
OPERATIONS
Letter from the Chair
2
Introduction
3
Clean Up Australia Day
4
Great Northern Clean Up
5
Clean Up Our Patch Tasmania
5
Catch it in the Catchment
5
Lake Burley Griffin
5
Our waste challenges go
far beyond one day
6
Every Day Clean Ups
7
Plogging
8
Get Fitter with Litter and
Adopt a Street
9
Content Team Building with Purpose
10
Greening the Green
11
Recykool
12
Buy Recycled
13
Our Waste Challenges
14
Rubbish Report
15
Clean Up the World
17
2021 Changemakers
18
Funds Flow
20
Team Clean Up
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Letter from the Chair
Last year saw immense disruption to our lives and the environment. Over the past twelve months, as Australians lived with COVID-19, the uptick in singleuse plastics including face masks, coffee cups, food delivery packaging and takeaway utensils surged.
Research revealed more than 1 in 3 Australian households self-identified as producing more packaging waste during lockdown periods compared to previous years, with more than 1 in 2 reporting they were more concerned about product packaging waste than they were in 2019.
The damage of single-use plastics left in the environment will outlive us all and action was urgently needed. Australians everywhere recognised that it was important to get involved and encouragingly, despite pandemic restrictions, we saw communities across Australia unite to clean up, fix up and conserve our environment.
Of course, Stepping Up to Clean Up goes well beyond one day. It’s an ongoing commitment to protecting our environment and looking for ways to help live more sustainably 365 days a year. Although we are best known for our national day of action with Clean Up Australia Day, we advocate that prevention is better than cure. Our rallying call, that it’s time to take responsibility for our reliance on single-use packaging and plastics and to make the right environmental choices every day is truly gaining momentum.
We can all be part of that solution by the everyday actions we take to reduce our waste. From recycling soft plastics to composting food waste or switching to a bamboo toothbrush, our Clean Up community is keen to make changes to benefit the planet and share their intentions via #StepUpToCleanUp pledges on various social media platforms.
We can vote with our wallet by supporting brands which design products and packaging for re-use, longevity, the ability to be repaired and made with recycled content. The Buy Recycled portal on our website is designed to help you do just that, showcasing products and packaging made from recycled content, extending the life of resources we have already used and reducing the need to extract new ones from our precious planet.
After many years of unwavering community action to reduce plastic pollution, governments are also taking action. It was wonderful to see the Federal Government announce its first National Plastics Plan and we now have jurisdictions - SA, QLD, the ACT, WA and VIC, having either passed or having promised legislation to reduce single-use plastics. There were other heightened calls this year for more sustainable pathways for the nation, which include increased attention on 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable household packaging within the next decade.
We continue to diversify our funding and strengthen the financial position of Clean Up Australia and are so grateful for the generous donations from members of the public and the support of our dedicated partners who share our vision. Their support is vital in enabling our work and providing clean up materials and education resources to schools and community organisations free of charge all year round.
Pip Kiernan, Chair, Clean Up Australia
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Introduction
As we locked-down in our efforts to battle the global pandemic of COVID variants, Clean Up Australia geared up to offer our volunteers the opportunity to safely ‘break out’ for solo or small socially-distanced team-based mental-health revivers.
Our Review of Operations gives you insights into the scope and reach of programs and projects Clean Up offers all year round.
Working in consultation with state health authorities and local government, we encouraged Australians to mask up and take to their streets for some outdoor exercise with the added benefit of positive action with and for their community.
None of this would be possible without the support of our volunteers, partners and donors – the lifeblood of our operations.
Whether they worked on their own, as a family or small group of friends, inspiring Australians took every opportunity to Step Up to Clean Up both in March and then throughout the year.
Our small and dedicated team, ably supported by our energetic board, works alongside business, government and community every day of the year to bring about the changes which then become part of the fabric of our lives.
New activities included plogging, collecting rubbish while walking, running, jogging – any physical action was a great excuse to get fitter with litter.
And for companies with home-based workers, the option of on-line team learning proved to be an attractive alternative.
As restrictions eased, our module-based Greening the Green program began working with sporting facilities to engage users in a series of solutions to reduce the amount of waste created at their grounds. While the program was interrupted due to local restrictions, feedback from those who managed to participate suggests there are significant changes which can be readily made to fulfil community desire to reduce our environmental impact across all aspects of our lives.
We look forward to a future where a refund for containers is the norm, where single use plastics are a memory and sustainability is at the forefront of thinking.
Terrie-Ann Johnson
Chief Executive
Respondents to our annual Rubbish Survey are telling us that Australia’s waste challenges continue to grow.
And that now, more than ever, it’s time to Step Up and support solutions which move us towards a circular economy – where everything is a resource, and there is no such thing as waste.
Conscious that dialogue and solutions were very focused on business, Clean Up has created Buy Recycled a consumerfacing platform to encourage every one of us to seek and purchase products made with recycled content.
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Clean Up Australia Day During a month of action, an estimated 571,423 volunteers joined together to clean up 7,259 local parks, waterways, beaches, bushland and roadways – reinforcing the relevance of Clean Up Australia Day as the largest community mobilisation event of its kind in the Asia Pacific region.
Since the national event started 31 years ago, 19 million Australians have donated 38.5 million volunteer hours across the country as part of Clean Up activities to benefit our environment.
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, community registrations increased by nearly 20% - a clear demonstration that Australians remain keen to Step Up to Clean Up.
Involvement was facilitated by the introduction of alternative participation options, reflective of pandemic-related restrictions.
Business registrations were on-par with 2020 site numbers, reflecting corporate caution for group gatherings as working-from-home and remote workforces became commonplace, while we achieved a 7% increase in high-school involvement.
Our founding partner, McDonald’s registered 299 teams nationally – 20% of which participated for the first time.
571,423
7,259
Volunteers
Local sites
20%
7%
Increase in
community
registration
Increase
in high-school
involvement
299
20%
McDonald
teams registered
nationally
of which
participated
for the first time
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Great Northern Clean Up The Great Northern Clean Up (GNCU) is Clean Up Australia’s event dedicated to communities north of the Tropic of Capricorn.
Since 2009, an estimated 37,500 volunteers have registered 1,147 locations, removing rubbish that has accumulated after the peak tourist period and prior to the cyclone season.
In 2020, GNCU ran throughout the months of August to November, attracting an estimated 3,139 volunteers at 108 registered sites.
Clean Up Our Patch
Tasmania
Catch it in the
Catchment A Tamar Natural Resource Management initiative to help clean up along the beautiful kanamaluka/ Tamar Estuary. In November 2020 there were 15 sites with 150 volunteers.
Lake Burley Griffin
Throughout August 2020, the Tasman Council held a month-long clean-up across the Tasman and Forestier Peninsula.
162 volunteers worked tirelessly across 14 locations, removing 88 bags or 500kg of rubbish
Clean Up Lake Burley Griffin is an annual event involving various local organisations that use the lake.
In December 2020, there were six sites along Lake Burley Griffin with an estimated 120 volunteers.
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Our waste challenges go far beyond one day. Of course, Clean Up Australia recognises that our country’s waste challenges go far beyond one day of action and volunteers are actively encouraged to register events all year round.
Registering online means they receive a free Clean Up Kit including bags, gloves, information and promotional materials and public liability insurance cover.
6
Every Day Clean Ups During FY21 46,861 volunteers participated at 957 everyday Clean Up sites, donating 93,722 hours of their time in community service.
46,861
Volunteers
Participated
957
Everyday
Clean Up sites
93,722 Hours
donated
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Plogging ‘Plogging’ is a Swedish word for picking up rubbish while jogging or exercising, and in 2021 we embraced the term as a COVID-safe offering that was a fun way to keep fit and promote sustainability.
Volunteers can plog at a time that suits them, track distance covered, rubbish collected, and even raise vital funds to support Clean Up Australia. Many businesses saw plogging as a great way to create virtual teams when they were unable to bring their employees together.
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Get Fitter with Litter and Adopt a Street The benefits of getting out in the open air and walking are well documented. It makes you feel good, more energetic, mentally alert and physically fitter. Even better if you walk with a friend or friends.
Better again if you have an added purpose and adopt a street to keep it neat!
Get Fitter With Litter is a healthy, fun way volunteers can do their bit towards reducing the problem of litter in their own neighbourhood.
So when walking their dog, on their way to the shops, taking the little ones to school or socialising with friends, they take a bag and pick up litter as they go.
9
Team Building with Purpose In-person and online team building allows colleagues to reconnect, as well as feel rewarded and motivated by giving back and helping others. Hosted by professional facilitators, Clean Up Australia’s sessions include interactive fast-paced simulation exercises and thought-provoking discussions that promote teamwork, increased empathy and more open minds.
The 2-hour sessions focus on the sustainability challenges Australia is facing and how Clean Up Australia works in partnership with governments, schools, businesses and community groups to educate and inform Australians about our waste challenges. Groups see myths debunked, learn how they can Step Up and look at their environmental footprint and make a real difference to our world and their workplace.
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This three-year sporting facility program, delivered in partnership with PepsiCo, aims to reduce waste at the fields and arenas where we gather to play and/or watch our favourite team.
Participants embark on a journey through a series of selfdelivered modules that start with understanding the scope of waste at their facility, exploring and implementing better reduction and or recovery practices and then being rewarded as items previously considered to be waste are turned into new items.
A clear demonstration of how every action we take can make a real and lasting difference, Greening the Green gives Aussies the power to participate in the circular economy.
During 2021 Clean Up took enrolments from 27 sporting facilities through which 44 individuals participated in the program.
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Piloted during 2021, Recykool is an innovative on-line module-based program that helps students, teachers, and ancillary support staff as well as canteen volunteers, and P&C members to better understand and manage the rubbish and litter that accumulates at their school.
By guiding participants through the simple step-bystep process to towards a greener outcome, this online course provides information, resources, tools and initiatives to rethink waste.
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Buy Recycled
Australia’s waste challenges continue to grow. Now, more than ever, it’s time to Step Up and support solutions which move us towards a circular economy – where everything is a resource, and there is no such thing as waste.
Aimed at consumers to raise awareness, drive demand for recycled content and compel brand owners to take action, Clean Up Australia has created the BUY RECYCLED Collection to showcase Recycled Content Products and products with recycled packaging.
Collections within the on-line platform direct consumers to showcased products and packaging made from recycled content, extending the life of resources we have already used and reducing the need to extract new ones from our precious planet.
In 2021, in partnership with Unilever, we extended the concept into retail spaces, partnering to promote uptake of on-shelf product available through Coles stores. Customers embraced the campaign’s call to action, stocking up on key laundry and personal items that were packaged in recycled content containers, demonstrating that Australians are keen for manufacturers to follow Unilever’s lead and invest in more sustainable packaging.
13
Our Waste Challenges
Now, more than ever, it’s time to Step Up and support solutions which move us towards a circular economy – where everything is a resource, and there is no such thing as waste.
Australia has a plastics problem. We now produce 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, equating to 100 kg per person. Of this, only around 13% of plastic is recovered and 84% is sent to landfill.
More concerningly, around 130,000 tonnes of the plastic we consume leaks into the marine environment each year. By 2025 it is predicted that 99% of seabirds worldwide will have ingested plastic. In partnership with Cleanaway, Clean Up Australia is tackling key waste issues that our community has identified as problematic for them.
In 2021 these included the national adoption for a container refund scheme, tips and hints to improve recycling behaviour, the call for national bin harmonisation and adoption of food waste solutions.
14
Rubbish Report The Rubbish Report is a snapshot of rubbish removed by volunteers during a calendar year. 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 refusing, reducing, re-using and recycling rubbish.
In 2021 Plastic was the most common rubbish type, representing 39.9% of all rubbish items reported.
This is the 27th year that plastic has dominated the ‘Major Types of Rubbish’.
Soft plastics again dominated this material type, with 2021 volunteers counting 38,266 items, representing 17.7% of all surveyed rubbish and 44.4% of plastics.
Miscellaneous items took second position at 17.8%. The most common item reported continues to be cigarette butts, reflecting 80.7% of reported items in this category.
Metals represented 12.7% of the total count this year. Soft drink and alcoholic beverage cans continue to dominate, representing 33% of metal rubbish reported. Metal bottle caps were next in line at 22.5%, an unfortunate increase on their 15.8% representation in 2020. Foil confectionery wrappers continued to be prevalent in 2021, representing 20.9% of counted metals.
Paper recorded 12.4% of all rubbish reported. Within this category, small pieces of paper continue to dominate, reflecting 20.7% of the count. This was closely followed by napkins & tissues at 16.8% and fast-food packaging at 15.6%.
Glass reflected 8.5% of the count. Glass pieces continue to dominate counts, representing 37.1% of reported glass. These were closely followed by alcoholic beverage bottles, which accounted for 32.7% of counted items.
These litter sources were followed by polystyrene at 6.1% [5% in 2020], then rubber at 1.5% and wood at 1.2%, each of which was consistent with 2020.
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2021
Major Types of Rubbish Soft plastics
44.4%
Miscellaneous items
17.8%
Metal
12.7%
Paper
12.4%
Glass
8.5% 16
Clean Up the World During 2020, 138 sites across 51 countries participated in Clean Up the World, compared with 154 sites across 56 countries in 2019. This represents a decrease of only 10% (10.38%), an impressive result given the global pandemic backdrop.
The countries which had the most registered sites in 2020 were Cameroon (12), Nigeria (11), Brazil (8), Australia (7), United States (7) and South Africa 5). There was a similar representation of top countries in 2019, with the exception of Brazil which typically has the most (around 16 sites) so a notable reduction in their representation.
The types of groups participating in 2020 were predominantly NGOs and Charities (42%) and Community groups (15%), followed by Business (14%), Other (9%), Family/Personal (8%), Education Institution (7%), Government (4%) and Religious/Faith-based (2%). This is a similar composition of group types to 2019.
The regional spread of these countries [based on UN Regions]
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2021 CHANGEMAKERS Clean Up Australia is owned by the volunteers who so freely donate their time, energy and funds to supporting our calls to action. While Clean Up works 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.
In association with Clean Up Australia Day 2021, Coles Liquor adopted Clean Up as their beneficiary partner for the Drop of Good Campaign. Based on a donation of 25c from sales of non-tobacco products available in Liquorland and First Choice stores, the initiative raised over $125,000 which was allocated to the purchase of Clean Up materials in support of everyday action.
This initiative was in addition to the support of Coles supermarket shoppers, through which 30c from the sale of hessian reusable bags is donated to us. So, when you see a Coles shopper with a hessian bag, give them a smile of thanks from us!
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Donating to Clean Up Australia means you can be part of Australia’s waste solutions, all year round. We pledge 100% of your tax-deductible donation goes directly to empowering Australians to take action for the environment.
2021 CHANGEMAKERS
We are grateful to the team from Platinum Cables, which, under their membership of 1% for the Planet, annually donates 1% of their profit to Clean Up Australia (this year totalling $88,000).
Clean Up Australia provides free resources and materials to communities, schools and youth groups throughout the year, supporting a new generation of Australians to clean up, fix up and conserve the environment.
And from the tip of the Top End, to the rainforests of Tassie, from Albany to Yungaburra, we’re bringing communities together to Clean up Australia, all year-round.
Clean Up is proud to have achieved the ACNC seal of approval as a compliant registered charity that fulfils our allocation pledge.
As an additional fundraising stream and to offer our community an alternative means of donating, Clean Up Australia continued its association with Play for Purpose, an innovative fundraising solution that is a not-for-profit online raffle. Our supporters can buy tickets for $10, knowing that a minimum of $5 from every ticket is donated to Clean Up Australia.
During 2021 we also secured the support of PayPal, encouraging users to donate to Clean Up Australia during transactions made in the month of March.
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FY21 Financials
Funds Flow Sources of
Expenditure:
*Campaign=
Clean Up Australia Day
2,096,192
Income:
Great Northern Clean Up
Everyday Clean Up
2,824,791
855,289
566,615
Total:
Total:
$3,761,628
$3,190,835
130,000 26,158
323,797
86,632
6,218
30,105
5,925
Travel
Insurances
Fundraising
Administration
Campaign
delivery*
Other revenue
Merchandise
sales
Government
grants
Sponsorship
In-kind
Donations
Corporate
sponsorship
20
Team Cleanup Gabrielle Aitken – Customer Service Officer [November 2019 – March 2020]
Joeley Brown - Administration Assistant [February 2020]
Terrie-Ann Johnson – Chief Executive Officer
Johann Kytzia – Operations Manager
Nicki Martin – Marketing & Communications Manager
Sally Miles – General Manager, Corporate Partnerships
Liam Rankine – Community Relationship Manager
Volunteers
Our Board
Carolina Alvim
Romayne Braid [admin]
Hevi Mattini [admin]
Beth Carlon [graphic artist]
Belinda Diprose
Catriona Dixon
Brett Hearnden - Company Secretary
Pip Kiernan - Chair
Maureen Horder
Terrie-Ann Johnson - Managing Director
Andrew Post
Daniel Ratner
Our Advisors Ernst & Young [auditing]
Haystac [media relations]
Hunt & Hunt [legal]
Uberbrand [brand design]
CONTACT US
Clean Up Australia Limited
Level 7, 140 Arthur Street, North Sydney NSW 2060
Web: cleanup.org.au
Email: cleanup@cleanup.com.au
Tel: +61 2 8197 3400
1800 CUA DAY [1800 282 329]
WE’RE VERY SOCIAL!
Stay in touch through Facebook & Instagram
@CleanUpAustralia #StepUptoCleanUp
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