By Tate Papworth
Candace Colaco has created a little project making a big impact.
The 22-year-old’s passion for the environment has prompted her to create the Little Litter Project, which is helping clean up Brimbank’s parks and reserves.
“About a year ago I’d take the Western Ring Road to come back from uni and I’d pass by the Calder exit where there’d be so much litter,” Ms Colaco said.
“I kept looking at it every day and after a month I called the council and VicRoads and they told me it was due to the roadworks going on there and it would be cleaned.
“It just wasn’t getting done, so I thought if I started doing clean-ups locally, I might raise enough awareness to get bigger areas, like off the freeway, cleaned.”
And that’s what Ms Colaco did. She began taking a bag out to her local parks and conducting regular clean-ups.
After a while Ms Colaco decided to share her journey with the public.
“I started cleaning local parks and decided to start a little blog to let people know about the clean-ups.
“But I also post about waste management and things like that,” she said.
“It’s made a little difference already, for example my friends now bring a metal straw when we go out and things like that.”
Ms Colaco says she’s learnt a lot about being environmentally conscious and wants to share her wisdom with younger generations.
“This year I really want to approach a couple of schools to do some talks aimed at primary school kids.
“I’d love to talk to them about waste management, where waste goes when it gets washed up and things like that.”
To support the project visit Instagram: @littlelitterproject
