Home topics small-business-resources sustainability Photo by Tim Levy (supplied by Clean Up Australia) Small Business Sustainability Small Business How businesses can help clean up Australia Rhea Laxmi Nath February 9, 2022 With single-use plastics and waste piling up on Australia’s streets and beaches, an annual initiative returns in March to help us all clean up. On 1 March, Australian businesses will get the opportunity to step up to conserve the environment with Clean Up Australia’s Business Clean Up Day. For over 30 years, the not-for-profit environmental conservation organisation has been responsible for Australia’s largest community-based environmental event. It’s a way for businesses to support their communities while boosting team morale. “Right now, our environment is experiencing the full force of the pandemic,” said Clean Up Australia Chairman Pip Kiernan. “We’re seeing a huge surge in single-use plastics and unprecedented numbers of face masks, takeaway coffee cups, and food packaging littering our footpaths, parks, and beaches. There has been no better time for Australian businesses to step up to support our communities and environment.” According to recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the country generates 76 million tonnes of waste, with 20.5 million tonnes going to Australian landfills. Between 2018-2019, $17 billion was spent on waste management services. Said Ms. Kiernan, “Not only is Business Clean Up Day a powerful team-building activity but can be a springboard for businesses to make ongoing changes to benefit the environment by supporting solutions which move us towards a circular economy – where