Organisers of Clean Up Australia Day event are inviting residents to make Brimbank rubbish-free.
The community is encouraged to put o gloves, pick up trash and make the change needed for the neighbourhood to be beautiful.
The nation-wide annual event motivates people to clean up their local area with 22 million people participating since its inception 35 years ago.
Brimbank Sustainability and Climate Action is supporting the day with a clean-up event on March 1.
It aims to set a good example and bring the community together while working towards helping the environment, event coordinator Shannon Meilak said.
“We’re inviting the community to get their hands a little bit dirty, have some fun whilst also looking after our community and get to know each other a bit better because our neighbours should be our friends,” she said.
Rubbish dumping and littering has been an ongoing area of concern amongst residents.
Often framed as an issue to be solved by council, this event allows the community to step up and take matters into their own hands explained Ms Meilak.
“It’s very easy to sit back and leave it for somebody else to do, but it’s also a rewarding experience to get involved and help your community with issues like this,” she said.
“Perhaps council should also be doing a little bit more in this space by regularly picking up this rubbish — it’s also up to residents to report rubbish that they find to
council because they don’t have eyes everywhere.”
Ms Meilak also proposed installing CCTVs in hotspot areas to identify and deter culprits.
Brimbank council city futures director Kelvin Walsh said the organisation was grateful to the residents who responsibly dispose of rubbish but reiterated that illegal dumping remains a challenging issue.
“Council spends about $1 million annually investigating, enforcing and cleaning up illegally dumped rubbish,” he said.
“This includes surveillance cameras set up at rubbish-dumping hotspots, and those caught dumping are fined.”
The local Clean Up Australia Day event begins on March 1, at 10.30 am at 1 Melton highway, and is open to everyone.
Details: register.cleanup.org.au/fundraisers/bsca-cuad25/brimbank-sustainability—climate-action—clean-up-australia-day-event
