Keep Australia Beautiful Week kicks off on Monday 22 August and will focus on the need to help keep our waterways litter free.
It is estimated that about 80 per cent of marine debris is from land based sources. Littered items such as cigarette butts and food and beverage containers, reach the ocean and rivers through run-off from storm water drains.
To highlight this avoidable environmental problem, this year’s campaign will focus on the effects litter has on our oceans and waterways, and the direct impact it has on the health and safety of marine wildlife. Keep Australia Beautiful will also be announcing the results of its annual National Litter Index at this time.
Downloadable teacher resources are available from the Keep Australia Beautiful Week schools web page, whilst students and teachers can also get involved by creating marine animal ‘litter art’ displays and downloading the template media release to send to their local media. Don’t forget to let us know about your involvement by emailing
pr@kab.org.au
Local councils and businesses can also download campaign posters to display locally to highlight the impact litter can have on our environment.
The Keep Australia Beautiful Week website will be updated over the next three weeks with fact sheets, tips, template media releases, creative resources and other information on how you can get involved.
Visit
www.kab.org.au and click on the KAB Week marine litter art monster image (see below) to take you to those pages.
Marine ‘Litter Art’ example:
Photo: RUTERS/Francois Lenoir
The "Plastic Bag Monster" below is a creation by Slovenian artist Miha Artnak, who collected 40,000 used plastic bags and 7,500 used plastic cups to create the "Plastic Bag Monster" artwork to symbolise the spread of consumerism and waste.
More information on Keep Australia Beautiful Week
Learn more about our anti-littering Campaigns