Beginning on Monday 24 August, Keep Australia Beautiful (KAB) Week will provide an opportunity for councils and their communities to get involved in the KAB Week waste reduction challenge.
According to KAB, Australians are one of the highest producers of waste per capita in the world, with every household throwing away over one tonne of waste each year. If Australians continue producing waste at this rate, it is estimated that around 70 million tonnes of waste will be generated a year by 2020.
As such, the theme for KAB Week 2009 is ‘Waste Lives On’. It will illustrate how the waste we throw away today may still be polluting our environment for generations to come.
To help reduce waste in landfill, KAB is calling on Local Government to promote the campaign and to encourage residents, schools, community groups and businesses to take up waste reduction challenges at home, work or school.
Council or individual departments can also get involved by making a commitment to the waste reduction challenge in their workplace. An ‘At Work’ fact sheet download is available from the KAB website, outlining many changes that can be made to reduce office waste.
Example activities include running a MobileMuster to recycle old phones and accessories, switching to refilled printer cartridges, or raising funds for KAB programs by purchasing and wearing a 100 per cent Australian made, organic cotton, KAB t-shirt throughout KAB Week. Councils could also work with local schools or community groups to run a Neighbourhood
Litter Count, assessing and addressing any local key litter issues.
For further information, fact sheets and example activities visit the KAB Week website at www.kab.org.au
