River communities like ours know all too well that what goes into the river upstream turns up downstream, which is all the more reason to help out this Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday, March 6.
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Dubbo River Care and OzFish are teaming-up this year to clean up the area around Devil's Hole Reserve, Dubbo, and team leader Annette Priest said there was "quite a lot of litter, including plastic bottles" to remove from the patch.
The Dubbo River Care team cleaned the reserve last year and found "litter left over from fishing, tangled line and fish hooks" and "a number of syringes and general litter that people had discarded" including bulky items like mattresses.
"There were cans, bottles and normal refuse. Unfortunately some people seem to think it's much easier to go to a reserve and dump their household waste rather than take it to the tip as they should," Ms Priest said.
Last year we collected enough waste to fill a large tip truck.
- Annette Priest
"Last year we collected enough waste to fill a large tip truck."
Ms Priest said refuse in the river caused problems for local wildlife becoming entangled, and petrol and chemicals contaminated the water.
"It's important to educate people that the right place for refuse is in garbage bins or the council tip, not in the river," she said.
Individuals and groups are invited to either register to join the Devil's Hole Reserve clean-up or register their own clean-up via cleanup.org.au
Sarah Falson
Daily Liberal journalist. I love telling people's stories. Get in touch at sarah.falson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Daily Liberal journalist. I love telling people's stories. Get in touch at sarah.falson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
