Cleaning up our beautiful Blue Mountains

People from across the Blue Mountain came together and got their hands dirty on Sunday 1 March for Clean Up Australia Day.

Twenty eight groups registered to clean up our beautiful Blue Mountains including 15 community groups, 13 schools, three youth groups and one business group, that volunteered for two days. They cleaned up rubbish strewn at sites in Glenbrook, Blaxland, Springwood, Winmalee, Hazelbrook, Lawson, Wentworth Falls, Leura, Katoomba, Medlow Bath and Blackheath. 

Highlights of the day included the SES donning harnesses to descend from Queen Elizabeth Lookout and spend two hours collecting rubbish that had been dropped over the edge. The Garguree Swamp Care group also had an exceptional turn out, with 40 dedicated people pitching in. 

An extraordinary effort was put in by Simon Day, who recently moved to the Blue Mountains. He single-handedly cleaned up three sites over a period of five hours, collecting seven large rubbish bags, one recyclables bag, a mattress and a 5L bottle of car oil. 

Council is an enthusiastic supporter of Clean Up Australia Day and offers practical assistance to registered Blue Mountains participants. Council coordinates the volunteers and ensures their sites adhere to safety guidelines. Council provides them with free access to the tip or arranges for a contractor to collect the rubbish from their site. 

Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill said: “I thank the many selfless volunteers who gave up their Sunday to clean up. Their excellent work has improved our Blue Mountains visually and environmentally. I am asking everyone who lives here, as well as everyone who visits, to be respectful of our environment, and of each other, and pick up after yourself. There is never an excuse for littering or dumping.” 

Clean Up Australia was started by Ian Kiernan AO in 1990 and inspires and empowers communities to clean up, fix up and conserve our environment. Find out more about Clean Up Australia Day.