Recently I posted an article about Leverage & Momentum, and how important they are too successful litter management programs.
There are a couple of dates coming up that provide exception opportunities to build some momentum from, and for a couple of states to leverage off.
1. Clean-up Australia Day on the 5th March is always a fantastic day in litter circle. Volunteers are getting out and doing their bit to help keep the county tidy.
Clean-up Australia Day brings with it, it’s own momentum, and the job of local Councils across the country is to be involved and ensure that momentum is not lost. Community members and many local businesses get together and arrange clean-up sites for the day; each local council should be doing their best to encourage participants to stay involved in litter clean-ups throughout the rest of the year.
Clean-Up Australia Day brings out the best in our volunteers. Local councils can build on that participation and momentum. This was a Seaside Scavenge down at Rye in December. The beach front was sparkling for a couple of days afterwards.
Invite participating businesses to take part in another clean-up, keep their interest at least peaked in keeping their shopfront and street neat, tidy and litter free.
Many local councils already work closely with the management team from Clean-up Australia Day which is fantastic, now’s the time to make sure you are building on the participation and community spirit.
Councillors and elected officials participating as well as council staff, when the community see the organisation out there as a part of the community next time you’re looking for participants they will remember.
2. Container Deposit Scheme launching in NSW July 2017.
To me, this is one of the best litter management opportunities that will ever occur. Placing a value on some areas of the litter stream is a fantastic engagement tool and will no doubt capture community participation.
The Rye 3941 Beach Patrol did a great job on a hot day in December
In NSW and even perhaps WA and QLD the preparations should be well underway to help community groups and sporting organisations be ready for this legislation. If the local council is involved early and often along the way to the launch date, you are leveraging off the state legislation. Your community is grateful for your assistance and will be a willing participant working to keep your town free of at least beverage containers.
What about in SA where they get to re-engage with the community and outline how the state has been a national leader for so long in container capture and refund. It’s time to welcome in the other states but remind the residents that you are already number one in the country and want to keep it that way.
The legislation is coming and so too are the opportunities to leverage off it. There will be press and community discussions leading up to July 2017, and your council should be positioning itself to be a leading part of it.
The Leverage and Momentum posting was designed to get people thinking about how you can connect different elements of litter management, things like bins, cleaning, marketing and enforcement and build upon each of them. It doesn’t stop there, keep your eyes open for opportunities, and you will be pleasantly surprised at how often something positive is happening that you’ll build momentum from or be able to leverage further successes off.
Best of luck with these two golden opportunities.