More than 200kg of garbage picked up in Boddington in Keep Australia Beautiful Week

More than 200kg of garbage was picked up in Boddington as volunteers turned out to help clean up their community.

Coinciding with Keep Australia Beautiful week in August, the event was run by Keep Australia Beautiful WA in association with Boddington RRR (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle). The haul contained 161 plastic food packs, 122 paper and cardboard items, and 271/2kg of glass.

About 150 aluminium cans were also picked up and recycled via Containers for Change.

Boddington RRR president and founder Eugene Smalberger said the turnout from young people was particularly encouraging.

“We put a movie night on for the kids on Friday night and then Saturday volunteers from the mines and the shire all got together and did a litter clean-up,” she said.

“They (Keep Australia Beautiful) showed people what to do and how to sort the litter and had a talk with them about it.

“We didn’t think we had much litter next to the roads because if you drive you don’t really see it but when people walked it was a totally different scenario. Piping, there was a car bonnet, glass and lots of clothing.”

Shire president Garry Ventris said the move would help the environment and come at no extra cost. “The cost of cleaning up illegal dumping is approximately equal to the loss in revenue that the Shire receives each year from additional tip passes that are sold to residents,” he said.

“Therefore, this incentive can be offered with no increase in costs to ratepayers. It has a positive impact on the environment, as waste that is dumped illegally often has high levels of toxins that leach into soils and ultimately enter the river system.”