By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Greater Dandenong councillor Lana Formoso is no stranger to getting her gloves dirty on Clean Up Australia Day.
But Cr Formoso’s plans to lead a litter-collection blitz in all 26 parks and reserves in her Noble Park North Ward have been stalled by Covid.
As she and her family embark on Covid isolation, she hopes to embark on the clean-up mission seven days later on 13 March.
Last year, her family of four toiled sunrise to sunset collecting “eight massive bags of rubbish” from about half of those parks.
She is hoping more helpers will join her to spruce up the ward’s open spaces this Sunday, and to grow it into a larger community event year upon year.
“I’m certainly conscious about leaving the least environmental footprint I can.
“I thought it would be a great way to get the community involved and focus on keeping our ward clean.”
Cr Formoso, who has volunteered for Clean Up Australia Day for much of her life, has also encouraged her councillor colleagues to set up clean-up teams in their wards for the day.
Along with volunteers around Australia, Cr Formoso’s team will take part in a citizen science project, collecting and tallying the number of discarded facemasks and other litter removed from the environment.
EPA Victoria’s Chief Environmental Scientist, Professor Mark Patrick Taylor, said discarded face masks have gone from a largely unknown litter problem to being seen in streets, parks and public places everywhere.
“It’s difficult to know just how many are polluting our streets, drains, waterways and beaches but they are now a widespread problem and with their plastic content, they are not just going to decay and go away,” Prof Taylor said.
“It’s critical that we rid the environment of discarded face masks, by taking part in Clean Up Australia Day and reporting mask litter wherever we find it.”
In 2020, more than three billion single-use masks were thrown out across the globe every day, contributing to a significant portion of pandemic-related litter entering the environment.
Plastics in disposable masks can take up to 450 years to break down and researchers have warned that littered single-use masks could be releasing chemical pollutants and nano-plastics into the environment.
Over the past two years there have been disturbing cases of seabirds and wildlife found tangled up in carelessly discarded single-use face masks.
Clean Up Australia chair Pip Kiernan said the next generation of personal protective equipment (PPE) should have the lowest environmental footprint possible.
“Urgency is required to be more creative in the design of these products with the environment right up there in our thinking,” she said.
“This concept of product stewardship – when we design a product and consider what happens to it at the end of its life – needs to be addressed at the outset. We need innovation in the design of PPE so that it’s as safe as it can be but kinder on the environment.”
Registering for Clean Up Australia Day covers volunteers with public liability insurance and allows them to participate in the Citizen Science project.
It’s suggested to bring gardening or kitchen gloves and a rubbish bag to join in on the day.
To register with Cr Formoso’s group, go to cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/fundraisers/lanaformoso/noble-park-north-ward
Details: cleanup.org.au
