3 March 2016

Roads and Maritime Services crews will be out in force during the first week of March to take part in a massive maintenance campaign to support Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday 6 March.

A Roads and Maritime spokesperson said extra maintenance work has been scheduled across the state in the lead up to Clean Up Australia Day to ensure the 21,000 kilometres of road, 2,137 kilometres of coastline and 32,242 square kilometres of navigable waterways managed by Roads and Maritime are clean and tidy.

“Clean Up Australia Day is an annual event aimed at reducing litter across the country and the NSW Government is excited to be taking part,” the spokesperson said.

“Unfortunately many people treat NSW waterways and roads like rubbish dumps.

“Roads and Maritime invests about $9.2 million per annum across the state in litter clean-up, collecting about 18,000 cubic metres of rubbish and debris each year.

“Across regional NSW about 26,889 items of rubbish were collected in the 2014-15 financial year. This costs about $6.8 million as part of the routine maintenance budget.

“That money and time could be better spent building and improving infrastructure, which is why the NSW Government is committed to reducing the volume of litter by 40 per cent by 2020.

“This commitment is not only important for the health of ecosystems and the environment but also general amenity.

“Clean ups including litter removal, graffiti removal, mowing and general maintenance have been scheduled for the Cahill Expressway, Domain Tunnel, Art Gallery Road, Sydney Harbour Bridge approaches and pedestrian facilities.

“Roads and Maritime crews receive safety training to ensure they can access hard to reach places such as near or above highways.

“Dozens of Boating Safety Officers will also be taking part in Clean Up Australia Day by supervising waterways and providing support to agencies involved in the clean-up.

“Community members can also take part in Clean Up Australia Day by volunteering to clean up near local roads or parks.

“In 2015 more than 535,000 volunteers removed an estimated 14,000 tonnes of rubbish from 6,890 sites across Australia.

“Registered site participants will receive a free Clean Up Australia Day kit to help them with their work.

“Those who don’t want to get their hands dirty can make a donation to the charity which will go towards developing programs to reduce litter.”

Clean Up Australia is a not-for-profit charity which relies on donations from individuals and businesses to help fund the free materials provided to thousands of volunteers at community sites all year round.

Registrations for Clean Up Sites are now open. To register go to: www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au

Roads and Maritime Services Media Unit 8588 5999 or media@rms.nsw.gov.au