Litter Facts: How to Keep Australia Beautiful This Week and Beyond

As Keep Australia Beautiful Week rolls around each year, it’s a timely reminder of the role we all play in protecting our environment. From city streets to beaches and parks, litter continues to impact our communities, wildlife, and natural landscapes.

Fortunately, Keep Australia Beautiful (KAB) provides a range of insightful tools to help us better understand litter’s impact—and more importantly, how to prevent it.

Their Litter Facts page is packed with free, downloadable resources offering facts, tips, and ideas for practical litter prevention activities. We’ve taken a closer look at each one to help you get inspired and involved during this year’s campaign.

What Is Keep Australia Beautiful Week?

Keep Australia Beautiful Week is an annual, community-driven campaign dedicated to raising awareness about litter, waste management, and encouraging sustainable habits. Events range from clean-up drives and educational workshops to social campaigns and school programs.

At Eco Cheeks, we’re proud to support these efforts. They align perfectly with our mission: promoting a low-waste, eco-conscious lifestyle through better choices—from the toilet paper you use, to how you dispose of soft plastics. Plus, with partners like Greenfleet, we’re helping to restore native forests and offset carbon emissions—one tree at a time.

Why Litter Prevention Matters

Before diving into the resources, here’s why litter prevention is so essential:

• Wildlife protection – Animals can mistake litter for food or become entangled in it, often with fatal consequences.
  

• Natural beauty – Litter spoils the places we love—parks, bushlands, coastlines, and urban streets.
  

• Pollution prevention – Litter, particularly plastics, often breaks down into microplastics that pollute water, soil, and eventually, us.
  

• Community pride and safety – Clean spaces boost wellbeing and reduce hazards like pests and disease.
  

A Closer Look at KAB’s Litter Facts Resources

The Litter Facts page offers several downloadable PDFs with practical information and ideas for individuals, schools, and community groups. Here’s a summary of each:

1. Litter Prevention Activities

Perfect for teachers, local councils, or families, this guide shares creative, hands-on ways to get involved. Activities include:

• Conducting a litter audit
  

• Creating anti-litter posters
  

• Running recycling challenges
  

• Exploring how litter moves through environments
  

It’s a fantastic way to engage young minds and foster environmental stewardship.

2. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

This one dives into the well-known 3Rs with a practical twist. It helps you:

• Identify easy ways to reduce single-use items
  

• Find opportunities to reuse materials
  

• Understand how to recycle correctly
  

The guide reinforces that reduction is the top priority—because the best waste is the waste you never create.

3. The Effects of Plastics and Packaging

Plastic waste is one of Australia’s biggest environmental concerns. This resource outlines:

• How long different plastics last in the environment
  

• The impact of plastic waste on oceans and marine life
  

• Why packaging choices matter
  

• Sustainable packaging alternatives
  

It’s a powerful reminder of why tackling plastic waste in Australia is so urgent.

4. Responsible Waste Management

This PDF explores how to do waste management the right way—from sorting recycling to composting and safe disposal of hazardous materials. Key points include:

• Separating waste into correct bins
  

• Composting kitchen and garden waste
  

• Reducing waste at the source
  

• Mindful purchasing and product selection
  

It’s all about building better habits at home and in the community.

5. Redcycle Program Information

While soft plastics can’t go in most kerbside recycling bins, Redcycle offers a practical alternative. This guide explains:

• What types of soft plastics can be recycled
  

• Where to drop them off (typically at supermarkets)
  

• Why this matters for landfill reduction and litter prevention
  

• How consumers can get involved
  

Note: Redcycle has faced temporary pauses, so check current status before participating.

How You Can Make a Difference

Armed with these resources, taking action is easier than you think:

• Join a local clean-up – Whether solo or with your community, every bit helps.
  

• Adopt the 3Rs daily – Reduce, reuse, and recycle correctly.
  

• Support initiatives like Redcycle – And dispose of soft plastics properly.
  

• Choose sustainable products – Like Eco Cheeks' bamboo toilet paper, which is 100% plastic-free and home compostable.
  

• Share these resources – Get your workplace, school, or community involved.
  

Eco Cheeks + Greenfleet: A Partnership for the Planet

At Eco Cheeks, we go beyond just litter prevention. We work closely with Greenfleet, a leading not-for-profit environmental organisation, to plant native trees and restore forests around Australia.

Tree planting helps to:

• Offset carbon emissions
  

• Improve biodiversity
  

• Clean our air and water
  

• Strengthen natural ecosystems
  

With every Eco Cheeks purchase, you’re not just reducing waste—you’re planting seeds for a better tomorrow.

Learn more about Greenfleet here →

Final Thoughts

Litter may seem like a small issue, but its consequences stretch far and wide. From polluting oceans to endangering animals, it’s a challenge that requires all of us to step up.

This Keep Australia Beautiful Week, let’s educate ourselves, change our habits, and take real steps to reduce waste. By using the helpful tools from KAB and choosing eco-conscious options like Eco Cheeks, we can make a meaningful difference—one small action at a time.

📘 Ready to Get Started?

Check out all the Litter Facts and PDFs from Keep Australia Beautiful here and start your journey towards a cleaner, greener Australia.