While some Student Councils take on beautification of their school grounds, in many areas of Australia, large sections of the population have taken on the cause of cleaning up their local neighbourhoods.

In 1987, Ian Kiernan, an Australian builder and yachtsman finally achieved his dream of competing in the BOC Challenge solo around-the-world yacht race.

Click here for Clean Up Australia

His delight turned to disappointment in many areas when he noted the sea was "littered with rubbish from discarded thongs, and plastic buckets, disposable nappies, toothpaste tubes and plastic bags."

Like others, Ian realised that most of this rubbish is not tossed overboard from ships. It is the sort of litter that finds its way into stormwater drains, then to rivers and finally to the bays and oceans. It's too easy for us to watch the candy wrapper disappear down the drain and forget it.

With the help of some friends, he organised Clean Up Sydney Harbour Day in 1989 and achieved an enormous public response with over 40,000 Sydneysiders donating their time and energy in an attempt to clean up their harbour.

You can pick up rubbish anywhere, anytime. But during Clean Up Australia day, thousands of people get together to help keep Australia beautiful.

The event has now grown to the point where hundreds of thousands of people take part in the event. It is now performed every year and people from all around Australia take part by cleaning up their local parks, streets and waterways.

Like many other organisations in the world, Clean up Australia began as a group of people setting out to make a small difference to some part of the world they were living in.

All sides of politics support the organisation. Individuals are asked to identify those areas in the community that they feel are the most in need of a good clean up.

Clean Up Australia Day 2000 was one of their best years yet!

Having grown in size, the organisation now has the need for a number of full- time workers. The concept has grown to encompass projects in a number of other areas.

Clean up the World developed out of a joint proposal between the Clean Up Australia group and the United Nations. The organisation has grown in the same way as Clean Up Sydney Harbour did in 1989. As well as the traditional clean up there are: reforestation projects; educational and recycling programs; and many more programs under way. The important focus now is that individuals can make a difference at the local level, and by thousands of us doing that, we can have a broader impact.

Another off-shoot from the organisation is the Fix Up Projects, which are a nationwide initiative that include a wide range of projects, from restoring bushland areas, creeks or wetlands, to fixing a point source of pollution.

Click here kids to help scrappy clean up!

One of the benefits of having an organisation such as Clean Up Australia is that it can provide the organisational support and advice, as well as the all too important legal coverage that is required these days for volunteer activities.

In recognition of the fact that environmental problems are with us all the time, the organisation has also developed activities for schools.

Clean Up Australia Day itself takes place on the first Sunday of every March. Australians from all walks of life can be seen removing rubbish from our country's beaches, parks, roadsides, mountains, rivers and bushland. Each year groups of individuals strive to develop the most creative way of collecting litter from the environment.

Once a site is nominated for clean up, site supervisors are appointed to the area. This person has the responsibility of registering volunteers, distributing Clean Up bags, overseeing the site's recycling activities and ensuring participants are aware of safety requirements.

It is important that all possible safety precautions are taken to ensure an effective "pick up" and an enjoyable day by all.

In Ballarat (Australia), one of the areas nominated was Lake Wendouree. It is an area that is used for recreation by many people in the local area. One of the problems is that because it is a picnic spot, it tends to collect picnic litter - things such as plastic bottles and take away food wrappers. In the case of the lake, one of the groups that uses it extensively is the local fishing club. Since they have nets, waders and boats, they were able to go for a stroll through the shallow water along the edges that is often missed during clean-up except in times of extreme drought, when water levels have dropped dramatically.

One of the exciting events at the end of the day is weighing the rubbish and noting the sorts of unusual items that have been "cleaned up". Over the years, these have included simple litter through to larger items such as car bodies and fridges. It is also important that people are aware of safety requirements. The occasional syringe and pieces of broken glass are more than a simple litter problem, requiring special precautions for their collection.