By Peter Douglas
Clean Up Australia Day came early to Macclesfield on Thursday 2 March when a local team from Emerald cleaned up 8km of the Macclesfield to Yellingbo Road.
Cleaning just one side of the road, the team picked up 338 drink containers.
Afterwards, they displayed the cans and bottles outside Macclesfield CFA to show the scope of this problem.
Peter Cook, from the Australians for Refunds on Cans and Bottles (AFROCAB), said the government needed to take notice.
“To fix this problem, the team thinks the government should give Victoria a 10-cent refund system like in South Australia, the Northern Territory and soon NSW,” he said.
“It would reduce litter, increase recycling and enable individuals, charities and community groups (like Macclesfield CFA) to make cash from trash.”