Armed with hats, gloves and garbage bags, 37 locals took to the streets on Saturday, September 25 to clean up Katherine as part of the 12th annual Great Northern Clean Up Day.
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Thirty-four bags of rubbish, three bags of recyclable cans and two shopping trolleys later, Katherine is a cleaner place and Mayor Lis Clark couldn't be more proud.
"It was a really good turn out considering the time of year. I would like to thank them [volunteers] very much for their commitment to helping keep the town clean," Mayor Clark said.
"There quite often can be a lot of rubbish to pick up so I am pleased we had such a good number of volunteers because the more we have, the better it is for these clean ups."
The clean up serves as a reminder to residents of all ages that tossed trash belongs in the bin and not on the ground or in waterways which can have detrimental effects.
"We need to get the message across, particularly to the younger children that you don't just drop rubbish as you go, you put it in a bin," Mrs Clark said.
"We picked up a lot of plastic which is a worry. If it ends up in the waterways, the fish and turtles and such eat it. It's not good for the environment."
While the clean up meant the volunteers were out in the heat, they were awarded an ice cream from The Meeting Place for their efforts, and some also won prizes including a 3-day access pass to the Henry Scott Recreation Centre, a 3-day pass to the Katherine Aquatic Centre, and more.
It is hoped the "incentives" will be in place for future clean up events.
"This is the first time we've offered prizes which may be a little more of an incentive for people," Mrs Clark said.
"I would like to put in some prizes for our next clean up in March. It will give people an incentive to come.
"I would like to thank our sponsors the YMCA, the Katherine Cinema, The Meeting Place and Cleanaway. I would also like to thank one of our rangers who made pancakes for the volunteers."
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