October 26 - 28, 2007 Another huge success

Every year thousands of people all over the Kimberley region of far north Western Australia devote one weekend to maintaining the natural beauty of this unique part of Australia. From Broome to Balgo, from indigenous communities to visitors, from infants to oldies everyone can get involved.

The event was started in 2001 by a Gibb River Road tour operator and has now become one of the biggest dates on the Kimberley calendar and the flagship event of the Clean Up the Kimberley Campaign.

Some 2,800 proud Kimberley locals removed over 10 tonnes of rubbish from the Kimberley on the last weekend of October 2007. Over 2000 school students from across the region participated with their schools on Friday October 26

Click Here to see our Call to Action TV Community Service Anouncement

"Kid's Fun Friday Arvo" and event opening celebration - Broome

Students who participated in Schools Clean Up were invited to the "Kid's Fun Friday Arvo" celebration, along with their parents, carers and teachers. Free food, drinks and live entertainment was provided. There were also environmental displays, stalls and giveaways. This was also a great way to kick off the Clean Up the Kimberely Weekend event.

COLORBOND® Photo Competition.

Three West Kimberley high schools and two remote Aboriginal communities received state of the art SANYO digital still and movie cameras to take photos of what they feel is worth protecting in their environment. The theme of the competition was "The Future In Our Hands". Over 200 images were sent to the Clean Up Australia offices in Sydney and were judged by a panel of celebrities including Sorrel Wilby from Getaway. The winners were announced at the Fun Friday Arvo by COLORBOND® Steel's National Marketing Manager David Bare. The first prize, a SANYO Xacti CA6, 6 megapixel still and video camera with editing software went to Jason George from St. Mary's College Broome.

Last year's event exceeded all expectations

Participation in the 2006 Clean Up the Kimberley Weekend set records tumbling with well over 1600 volunteers participating! This year saw another significant increase in participation. Highlights include:

• 2,800 volunteers participated, one thousand up on last year
• 72 sites were registered around the Kimberlet region
• 16 Kimberley schools with over 2000 students joined in Schools Clean Up Day
• Over 10 tonnes of rubbish was collected, which would otherwise have been washed into creeks, rivers and the sea during the wet season.

The top ten most common forms of rubbish found in the Kimberley over the Weekend were:

1. Aluminium cans
2. Glass bottles
3. Plastic (PET) bottles
4. Plastic bags
5. Cigarette butts
6. Takeaway food packaging
7. Disposable nappies
8. Plastic ice bags
9. Tyres, car parts and car bodies
10. Steel drums (fuel, oil)

If you would like a copy of the 2007 Kimberley Rubbish Report, contact Clean Up Australia 1800 282 329 or cleanup@cleanup.org.au