REVIEW OF OPERATIONS FY2025
CELEBRATING
35 YEARS OF CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR AND CEO
CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA’S MISSION IS TO INSPIRE AND MOBILISE COMMUNITIES TO IMPROVE AND CONSERVE OUR ENVIRONMENT, ELIMINATE LITTER, AND END WASTE.
This year marked a significant milestone for Clean Up Australia as we proudly celebrated our 35th anniversary—a testament to the power of everyday Australians who believe that every action counts when it comes to protecting our environment.
From its humble beginnings as a local Clean Up event on Sydney Harbour in 1990, Clean Up Australia has grown into a national movement. In February 2025, we honoured this legacy by launching the inaugural Clean Up Australia Community Awards at Parliament House in Canberra. These awards celebrated the tireless efforts of volunteers, community groups, educators, and councils who embody environmental stewardship and inspire change in their communities.
Reading the stories of our nominees was deeply humbling. Each one reflected the spirit of action and care that defines our movement. Every applicant was deserving of recognition—and together, they show what’s possible when we choose to act together.
A RECORD-BREAKING CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY
On our 35th Clean Up Australia Day, we saw an extraordinary turnout:
• Over 800,000 volunteers
• More than 8,000 events
Spanning from the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory to Abels Bay in Tasmania, Australians of all ages rolled up their sleeves to remove litter from cities, rivers, beaches, and bushland—a powerful display of community spirit and environmental care.
We know that our founder, the late Ian Kiernan AO, would be incredibly proud to see how his vision has grown. What began as a local initiative has become a beloved national day of practical action for Australians of all ages, embraced by a growing number of communities across the country.
THE CHALLENGE AHEAD
Despite our progress, there is enormous work still to be done—not just through Clean Ups, but by reimagining our relationship with waste.
We continue to advocate for waste prevention and sustainable living, encouraging Australians to rethink, reduce, reuse and recycle the products and packaging they use daily. By embracing the principles of a circular economy, we can keep valuable materials in use for longer and lessen our reliance on finite resources. Together, we can shift habits, reduce waste, and protect our natural spaces for future generations.
THANK YOU
To our volunteers, supporters, and partners—thank you. Your commitment fuels this movement and proves that positive change begins with us. We look forward to continuing this journey with you in the years ahead.
Jenny Geddes, CEO
Pip Kiernan, Chair
Volunteer Hours
FY2025
Clean Up Events
1,030,088 2,060,176 12,242 6,339 4,463 1,640 266 Volunteers 1 in 27 Australians
Community Clean Ups across 50% of Council Areas
School & Youth Clean Ups Business Clean Ups
Supporting Councils
COMMUNITY ACTION
In our 35th year, we celebrate our volunteers. That is you! The Clean Up Australia community is a vibrant, passionate group of people from all walks of life. Our volunteers each bring their own story, culture, and connection to place, united by a shared goal: to protect and care for our environment.
We celebrate everyone who encouraged their friends, school, family or colleagues to come together for a Clean Up—and those of you who went out on your own to Clean Up an area that is special to you, or joined a group Clean Up not knowing a single person but wanted to make change.
Whether you’re someone who organises regular Clean Ups, a long-time participant in Clean Up Australia Day, or someone who hosted their very first this year (welcome!), thank you for showing up, putting on your Clean Up gloves, and taking action!
Together, you are the heart of Clean Up Australia.
CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY
On Sunday, 2nd March 2025, volunteers across the country united for the 35th annual Clean Up Australia Day.
From remote townships to bustling city suburbs, over 8,000 groups got involved. Together, over 800,000 volunteers donated their time to Clean Up streets, parks, beaches, and waterways to remove countless pieces of litter and help prevent millions more from entering our precious ecosystems.
To mark this milestone year, Clean Up Australia hosted three special anniversary Clean Up events in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
These celebrations offered a powerful snapshot of energy and commitment shown by our volunteers across the country.
We were excited to see a 3% increase in volunteer participation compared to last year. This growth highlights how deeply Australians care about the health of their local environment and how impactful we can be when we work together.
Thank you for making Clean Up Australia Day 2025 our Biggest Ever Clean Up!
GREAT SPRING CLEAN UP
In FY24, we reimagined the Great Northern Clean Up into something bigger and more inclusive: the Great Spring Clean Up. In FY25, the campaign continued to grow, and 27,564 volunteers stepped up to host and join Clean Up events in 597 locations around Australia, showing the power of local action in protecting some of Australia’s most ecologically sensitive regions.
Running across September and October, this national initiative provides another opportunity for volunteers to get involved. In many parts of Australia, particularly north of the Tropic of Capricorn, the Great Spring Clean Up is an opportunity for communities to come together and stop litter in its tracks before the wet season washes it into our creeks, rivers, and oceans.
We also supported global Clean Up efforts to mark World Clean Up Day with over 100 Clean Ups across Australia on Friday, 20 September 2024. Thank you to everyone who got involved!
GREAT BARRIER REEF CLEAN-UP
The Great Barrier Reef Clean-Up, hosted by ReefClean (delivered by Tangaroa Blue Foundation and funded by the Australian Government) in partnership with Clean Up Australia, brought communities across the Great Barrier Reef region and Queensland together for 141 impactful Clean Ups across September and October 2024.
The Great Barrier Reef Clean-Up is a fantastic chance for our community to come together and clean their favourite sections of the Reef before the wet season begins. It also plays a crucial role in gathering essential data on marine debris levels throughout the Reef’s catchment area.
Over 700 volunteers removed 49,147 marine debris items during this year’s Great Barrier Reef Clean-Up. Thank you to every single person who took part— your efforts made a powerful difference in protecting the Reef.
COMMUNITY GRASSROOTS CLEAN UPS
At Clean Up Australia, we’re proud to support local groups in leading grassroots Clean Up campaigns that make a real and lasting impact in their communities. Initiatives like the Great East Coast Clean Up in Tasmania are a great example of what’s possible when communities come together.
Community-led action is powerful, and this year we’ve seen incredible campaigns like:
• The Great East Coast Tasmania Clean Up in partnership with the Landscape Recovery Foundation, East Coast Catchments, Let’s Clean Up Our Patch, and four local councils.
• Clean Up the World with the Fraternity in Truth Association (FITA); and
• The Big Butt Hunt with No More Butts, tackling cigarette litter one butt at a time.
These are just a few examples of the inspiring work being done by volunteers across the country. To everyone taking the lead in their communities, we thank you for showing what’s possible when we get together for good.
EDUCATION
SCHOOLS CLEAN UP DAY
Held on Friday, 28th February 2025, Schools Clean Up Day was a wonderful day with huge numbers of our school student and teacher volunteers getting involved.
Over the campaign period, over 2,550 pre and primary schools and 586 secondary schools took part in school Clean Ups across Australia, making it our biggest year to date in terms of school volunteer numbers. Participating schools were invited to enter a creative sculpture competition leading up to Schools Clean Up Day, resulting in an overwhelming number of entries and some fantastic artworks! A great day of practical action and fun was had by all involved.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
This year we launched our inaugural Educators Guide with an engaging and inspiring online panel discussion led by Pip Kiernan and two dedicated environmental leaders, Beth Riolo and Annie Woollard. With this new resource, we aim to empower educators across Australia to create meaningful change for Australia’s youth.
Clean Up Australia is proud to partner with Unilever to deliver our educational program and curriculumaligned lesson plans, helping teachers create engagement and encourage behaviour change and practical action within their classrooms.
Through our partnership with Unilever, we have launched five new, secondary school lesson plans hosted by Cool.org.
The new lesson plans cover key learning areas, including the lifecycle of waste, understanding a circular economy, promoting sustainable choices, the waste hierarchy, food packaging and more. A high number of downloads have been recorded since the new lesson plans were launched in August this year.
Our free lesson plans enable us to reach more educators and students throughout the year. During the reporting period of January to June 2025, our lesson plan resources were downloaded 9,078 times by 914 unique educators, empowering over 170,000 students.
Visit our online Education Hub to download the Educators Guide and new lesson plans.
SUPPORTING COUNCILS
In FY25, an incredible 266 Councils worked with Clean Up Australia right around the country—across cities, countryside and coastal areas, our Supporting Councils are engaged and dedicated to looking after their local areas.
Councils are the backbone to Clean Ups, doing lots of hard yakka—disposing of the rubbish our volunteers have collected in their community Clean Up events all year round. Thank you to those Councils who hosted their own Clean Ups—it’s a joy to see you engaging your communities in impactful environmental action. It’s also wonderful to see Councils spreading the word about Clean Up activities in their area and supporting local volunteers out in the field with extra Clean Up kits, shelter and refreshments.
Big councils, small councils and councils in-between—we’re excited to work with all of you.
How our Councils are supporting Community Clean Ups:
• Collecting Clean Up Australia litter bags from events.
• Providing access to rubbish drop-off or waste facilities.
• Identifying appropriate sites and litter hotspots for Clean Up events.
• Registering events for their community.
• Organising Council-run community events.
• Promoting Clean Up Australia Day and the Great Spring Clean Up.
• Providing additional support to their community including kits, marquees, water and BBQs.
• Generally, being awesome and staying connected with us!
Reach out : If you’re a Council and you’d like to connect! We’d love to hear from you and collaborate on making an even bigger impact.
LITTER & WASTE PREVENTION
Over the past year, we’ve continued to expand our efforts in litter and waste prevention, building on more than 35 years of advocating for change through government policy and community-driven initiatives.
With a focus on behavioural and systems change, we have developed, we have developed a comprehensive Litter Prevention Plan along with a five-year roadmap to implement key strategic initiatives. This new plan takes an organisational and community-wide approach with the key objective to prevent litter and waste while fast-tracking Australia’s transition to a circular economy.
To help realise our vision, we’ve identified three strategic directions that bring clarity of purpose, align our efforts, and inform how we prioritise and allocate resources:
1. Capacity Building,
2. Activation & Stewardship, and
3. Measuring Impact.
We are proud to have been awarded the NSW EPA Waste and Sustainable Materials (WASM) Litter Prevention Stream 3 Grant. This funding enables us to appoint a dedicated Litter Prevention Coordinator who will oversee the successful rollout of our Litter Prevention Plan and roadmap. They will work closely with our Project & Advocacy Specialist and the whole Clean Up Australia community to deliver long-lasting, sustainable programs and outcomes.
ADVOCACY
We are proud to be the voice for our national community of volunteers as we advocate on their behalf for policy reforms, programs and government investment that enable litter and waste prevention. We also educate and empower communities to engage in sustainable behaviours to prevent waste, including avoidance, reuse, repair and improved recycling.
Our advocacy work aims to transition Australia to a circular economy.
Key consultations we contributed to in FY25 include:
• Federal Reform of Packaging Regulation,
• Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia application for final authorisation ACCC, and
• Inquiry into Improving QLD’s Container Refund Scheme.
We also participated in the following working groups:
• Boomerang Alliance Single-use Plastics, and
• Cigarette Butt Litter Taskforce.
LITTER REPORT
Since 1991, the Clean Up Australia annual Litter Report has provided a snapshot of the rubbish our volunteers collect over a calendar year. Typically, around 10% of all sites are surveyed, with volunteers opting to provide this data.
The Litter Report FY24 showed that plastics continue to be the number one litter type found in our streets, national parks, bushlands, beaches and waterways, representing 81% of all counted litter.
The Litter Report highlights how every bit of effort in litter removal makes a big difference, as well as demonstrating the need for continual waste prevention efforts at the design, use and disposal stages.
DONATIONS
As a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, Clean Up Australia relies on donations from both the community and the corporate sector, to keep us doing what we do! Thanks to every generous community member and organisation who donated to us throughout FY25. Every little bit makes a huge difference. Thank you for your support.
CORPORATE PARTNERS
We are so grateful for the generous support from our Corporate Partners, whose funding enables us to provide free Clean Up kits to school and community groups across the country, as well as develop important resources to inform people of all ages on litter prevention and environmental sustainability.
GOLD PARTNERS SILVER PARTNERS
Bupa – Bupa’s Healthy Cities initiative shares strong alignment with Clean Up Australia’s mission, aiming to protect our environment through practical action, community engagement and lasting behavioural change.
Coles – Since 2018, Coles has supported Clean Up Australia through donations from reusable bag sales as well as team Clean Ups. In FY25 we launched the inaugural CUA Month instore donation campaign at Coles which saw a percentage of sales from participating partners donated to Clean Up Australia.
Peters Drumstick – is passionate about protecting our beautiful Aussie environment and continues to pledge funding towards our Family Clean Up kits.
Amazon to support Clean Up Australia by distributing our Clean Up kits across the nation during the Clean Up Australia Day period.
Cleanaway – With a mission to make a sustainable future possible, Cleanaway has supported Clean Up Australia since 2016.
Oates – has been helping clean Aussie homes since 1930 and, through our partnership, aims to promote sustainability and the reduction of harmful environmental impact.
SodaStream – is leading a revolution against bottled beverages by providing consumers with a better-for-theplanet alternative to store-bought drinks, helping keep Australia free from single-use plastic bottles.
consecutive years through its “Love Your Land” campaign and “Drop of Good” as well as regularly participating in team Clean Ups.
PepsiCo – continued its support by donating a percentage of selected Smiths Chips sales at Coles to Clean Up Australia.
Safcol No Net Tuna –focuses on reducing the impact and risk of “ghost nets” in our oceans, protecting vulnerable marine life. A donation from each product sold is given to Clean Up Australia.
redesign their packaging to use less plastic and make it easier to recycle. As our Education Partner, Unilever has helped fund curriculum linked lesson plans on practical environmental action.
FOUNDING PARTNER
McDonalds – as a Founding Partner, a growing number of staff in their restaurants across the country enthusiastically get out to Clean Up on Clean Up Australia week.
TRUSTS & FOUNDATIONS
UBUNTU FOUNDATION
We were proud to partner with Carolyn Vincent’s Ubuntu Foundation for the first time this year. Based in Queensland, the Ubuntu Foundation and Clean Up Australia partnership is founded on the power of community to create real change by connecting with the natural environment and each other. With mounting distress about ecological damage and climate change, feelings of increased isolation and hopelessness, volunteering to pick up litter can provide a simple, immediate, and collaborative antidote.
We are also grateful to the many businesses which choose Clean Up Australia as their beneficiary, especially noting:
Accor: provide pro-bono accommodation for Clean Up Australia staff when interstate travel is required.
Platinum Cables : generously contributes 1% of revenue to Clean Up Australia.
The Good Guys : support us through its Workplace Giving Program.
Clean Up Australia also receives small grants from government entities and other organisations in support of Clean Up activities and projects.
FY25 GRANTS AND PROJECTS:
Adobe Employee Community Fund Grant
Australian Government Grant : Reducing the impact of litter on our environment and biodiversity.
Chatleigh Foundation
City of Sydney Quick Response Grant : Clean Up Redfern-Waterloo 2024.
City of Sydney Venue Hire Support Grant: Clean Up Australia Day 2024 Launch.
Dick and Pip Smith Foundation
Great Barrier Reef Marine Debris Management and Mitigation Grant: Clean Up Australia in partnership with Tangaroa Blue Foundation’s ReefClean Project.
HDR Foundation
Infoxchange Asia-Pacific Digital Transformation Program’s Innovative Solution Grant
Minderoo Foundation Limited
NSW EPA Waste and Sustainable Materials (WASM)
Litter Prevention Grant Stream Stream 3 Intake 4
Pratt Foundation
Queensland Government Community Sustainability
Action Grant: Clean Up Australia and Queenslanders
– Mobilising to Improve our Environment.
Bain & Co.
Cleanaway Daniels
Cummins South Pacific
Ernst & Young
Hunt & Hunt
SPARK Foundry
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS
Feature Communications
The Being Group
Uberbrand
FINANCIALS
FINANCIALS
CELEBRATING 35 YEARS: THE INAUGURAL CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA COMMUNITY AWARDS
Australia’s environmental champions were celebrated through the inaugural Clean Up Australia Community Awards which were announced in February 2025 at Parliament House in Canberra. What better way to celebrate 35 years of Cleaning Up our nation than by recognising the ongoing commitment and environmental stewardship of individual volunteers, community groups, education champions, and councils across Australia!
AWARD WINNERS
Among the honourees were Marjo Hallowell , who has cared for the environment in her local Wollondilly and Wingecarribee community for decades and Michael Filby, who has worked tirelessly to Clean Up the stretch of highway running through his town of Walpole in remote WA. Queensland’s Pioneer Catchment & Landcare Group, which has led impactful Clean Ups for decades received the Community Award with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community receiving a Highly Commended. Joining them were Gippsland Grammar’s Green Team , trailblazers in school sustainability, and Blue Mountains City Council , whose innovative Clean Up efforts span challenging landscapes. The coveted Ian Kiernan Impact Award was awarded to Venkataraj Jayaraj , a community leader inspiring collective action in Sydney’s Seven Hills.
Click on each recipient’s name to watch a short video on their award.
GROUP COMMUNITY CHAMPION AWARD
Pioneer Catchment & Landcare Group Inc. (Winner)
INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITY CHAMPION AWARD (DUAL RECIPIENTS)
Marjo Hallowell
INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITY CHAMPION AWARD (DUAL RECIPIENTS)
Michael Filby
SCHOOLS SUSTAINED ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD
Gippsland Grammer School
GROUP COMMUNITY CHAMPION AWARD
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (Highly Commended)
OUTSTANDING COUNCIL AWARD
Blue Mountains City Council
Venkat Jayaraj
THE IAN KIERNAN IMPACT AWARD
TESTIMONIALS
COMMUNITY BUSINESS
34 years in a row we have taken part and made a massive difference — not only to the appearance of our community, but also to the attitude of the people who live in it.
The Clean Up was more than a physical transformation — it fostered a sense of community and environmental responsibility. Participants exchanged smiles and stories, forging connections that extended beyond the event itself.
Having the Scouts from three neighbouring Scout dens all join up and take canoes onto the lake to bring back the rubbish lurking below the surface was incredible.
While Clean Up events bring together the young, the old, and everyone in between, it’s the participation of children that truly makes this event special. At our community Clean Up, the children are always the highlight and help strengthen that community spirit.
I feel like our family has been able to contribute a little bit, but more importantly be a visible, positive example that I think has helped inspire others to join in next year.
SCHOOLS
Your continued efforts in this area are truly inspiring, and I am very glad we had the opportunity to contribute.
The excitement of the primary school students at being involved in such a big event was incredible. You just know they’re going to go home and tell Mum and Dad all about the things they found — and how terrible it is that people drop so much litter!
A great event, and eye-opening for our school which we thought to be fairly litter-free. Thank you for the opportunity and resources!
COUNCILS
A Council worker responsible for the area stopped by to see how we were going and supplied extra bags.
Local Government provided excellent support.
It’s a wonderful way for the Council to support our community — especially those with a passion for the local environment.
Participation has students discussing Clean Ups, taking more notice of their local environment, and considering the impact humans have on both their community and the planet.
I want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Clean Up Australia for organising such a meaningful day where we could give back to the environment. Everyone had a wonderful time and felt incredibly fulfilled by the experience.
Thank you so much for all your support — the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
Yesterday was brilliant. Thanks to the Clean Up team for coming along and rallying the troops!
– Marketing Specialist
Jenny Geddes – CEO
Lucy Giblin – Corporate Partnerships Executive
Sarah Jones – Education Sector Specialist
Johann Kytzia – Operations Manager
Sarah Martin – Corporate Partnerships Manager
Lucia Moon – Project Officer
Aidan Rodgers – Marketing & Communications Manager
Greta Stevens – Community Relationship Manager
Andrea Verlander – Customer Relations Officer
Emilia Mathias
Dani Smith
Elizabeth Taddeo
OFFICE VOLUNTEERS
Romayne Braid
Finn Lilienthal
Emilia Mathias
Ian Morgan
Gayathri Nair
Emma Cowdroy
Catriona Dixon
Brett Hearnden – Company Secretary
Maurene Horder
Pip Kiernan – Chair
Andrew Post
Dan Ratner