MEDIA RELEASE: Thursday 12 December 2019
Keep Australia Beautiful is pleased to announce the relaunch of its operations in Queensland.
Post a three-year hiatus, after Keep Australia Beautiful Qld Inc. resigned its membership of the national body, the iconic national organisation has made a comeback to the Sunshine State.
Driven by a popular demand to return the prestigious Keep Australia Beautiful Sustainable Communities – Tidy Towns Awards to the State, the national association ran the Queensland competition and awards ceremony directly, engaging three prominent Queensland-based industry experts as judges.
The Awards, which have been operated by Keep Australia Beautiful (KAB) since 1990, were presented by KAB National Chairman, David Carter on 6 December 2019 at the Waste, Recycling Industry Qld (WRIQ) AGM and Christmas Lunch in the presence of more than 140 waste and recycling companies, councils and government.
Gympie was awarded the Queensland Overall Sustainable Communities – Tidy Towns Award, making the town eligible to represent the State at the coveted Australian Sustainable Communities – Tidy Towns competition to be held in Alice Springs in April 2020.
WRIQ CEO, Rick Ralph said partnering with Keep Australia Beautiful Queensland Branch presented the waste and recycling industry sector an opportunity to build stronger bonds with Local Government Partners.
“I was particularly impressed by both the high quality of the programs and great initiatives the Councils brought to this year’s awards.
“WRIQ looks forward to continuing this very important partnership,” added Mr Ralph.
KAB CEO, Ms Val Southam sees these awards now being truly a national awards program with the inclusion of a Queensland representative.
Ms Southam added that KAB runs several highly successful national programs which are also operating in Queensland.
“These include the National Litter Index – an independent audited research of litter in each state; the National Branded Litter Study, which identifies the prevalence of particular brands in the litter stream and the Adopt a Patch program that works with businesses to clean up sites around, and adjacent to their facility,” said Ms Southam.
Queensland is also leading the country in the KAB Eco-Schools program, an accredited international student led sustainability program, recognised by UNEP and UNESCO.
“In 2019, Tinana State School was the first school in Queensland and Australia to be awarded the prestigious Green Flag, followed closely by Bell P-10 State School later in the year,” added Ms Southam.
KAB and its members are also working hard to relaunch the “Do-The-Right-Thing” Campaign nationally, which will bring back the well-known 1970s campaign with a 2020 flavour.
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CONTACT DETAILS:
Val Southam, Chief Executive, Keep Australia Beautiful ceo[at]kab.org.au, m: 0419 016 401
EDITOR’S NOTES:
About the Australian Sustainable Communities Tidy Towns Awards
Keep Australia Beautiful seeks to lead, challenge and inspire all Australians to strive for a sustainable and litter free environment. It does this through research, communications programs and awards programs.
Its national awards are known as the Australian Sustainable Communities Tidy Towns Awards. The Awards program commences with state and territory awards and culminates in a national Grand Final event.
The Keep Australia Beautiful Sustainable Communities Tidy Towns Awards Program for Queensland
As Queensland is not currently represented in the federation of the Keep Australia Beautiful organisations from each State and Territory, there has not been a Queensland entry for the Australian Sustainable Communities ‐ Tidy Towns awards since 2016.
For 2019, the Keep Australia Beautiful National Association has run a dedicated awards program so that the regional towns in the beautiful state of Queensland have the opportunity to be included in the National awards program.