Saturday, November 08, 2008

What started out with a $500 television advertisement with kids' soccer coaches inviting people to clean up did wonders.

More than 6000 people turned up for the first campaign.

Twelve years later, the Clean Up Fiji campaign has grown from strength to strength.

Come November 22, this year's campaign, 'Start Today Save Tomorrow', is said to be the biggest ever.

Clean Up Fiji founder Cazz Tebbutt-Dennis in yesterday's launch said the secretariat had raised $80,000 in sponsorship in cash and in kind for this year's campaign.

She said Flour Mills of Fiji would donate 12,000 sacks to collect rubbish.

Campaign co-ordinator Michael Dennis said while 12,000 sacks were provided they had to add more.

"This year we are budgeting for 20,000 sacks and 20,000 gloves," he said.

"We are anticipating a bigger response.

"The television ad will start on Sunday."

Mr Dennis said over the years, the number of youth, church, school and village clean-up groups had increased.

He said this was an indication that collectively people cared about the environment.

"People are becoming more civic minded," he said.

"However, if we took responsibility in the first place there would not be so much rubbish to clean.

"Collectively, people do care."

Article reproduced courtesy of Fiji Times Online - http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=105546