Concerned with the amount of litter adorning roadsides, a couple of locals have taken it upon themselves to help clear the rubbish and take pride in their surroundings.

Newman Road, between Wyreema and Drayton Connection Road is in much better shape now, thanks to the efforts of Esther Hume and Geoff Eldridge.

Using drone footage, they created a short video of their escapades which was uploaded to social media.

Along a 1.6 kilometre stretch, they collected 14.2 kilograms of rubbish that came in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

It included what you would expect, such as fast food wrappers, hub caps and drink cans and bottles, which amounted to $4 worth of 10 cent returns.

What they found which was less expected includes a pregnancy test, rope and an erectile dysfunction tablet.

Esther said they did not originally plan to make a video. “The video was an afterthought,” she said.

“We saw how much litter was left on the side of the road and organised to pick it up.

“It was later, when were disappointed in how much we found, that we decided to make the video.”

Esther said it took a few hours to pick up the rubbish.

“We picked up the rubbish for a few hours until dark. The next morning after we had reflected on the quantity, we got out the drone and filmed some footage of the road,” she said.

“I later spent about two days learning how to use Final Cut Pro (video editing software) with the help from YouTube videos and managed to put it together.”

It addition to helping pick up rubbish, Esther’s friend Geoff used his skill flying drones to conduct filming.

“My friend Geoff is an amateur drone operator, he got the perfect drone footage for the film,” she said.

“I did the editing and social media for the film,” Esther said.

“We are just friends who hung out for an afternoon, picking up rubbish.”

The official Clean Up Australia Day was last Sunday, 5 March.

There were no clean-ups organised in local townships, but there were several in Toowoomba, as well as in Highfields and Oakey.

In the lead up to the day, Pip Kiernan, Chair of Clean Up Australia said our environment is facing pressure unlike ever before.

“As all Australians know, over the past two years, we’ve seen severe bushfires, cyclones and floods, and increased pressures on our biodiversity and an ever-growing volume of waste which leaks into our natural and marine environment. Australians tell us every day that they are concerned about the world we live in but often feel frustrated and unsure how to make a positive impact,” Ms Kiernan said.

“Clean Up Australia Day is a great opportunity to work together and take practical action. We seek the support of all Australians. Together we can all make a real difference.”

Although they are both busy with their own businesses, Esther and Geoff plan on continuing to clean up local roadways when they have time.

“We both have our own local businesses, Geoff, has Tramtech Controlled Traffic Farming and I am a self-employed Pharmacist, so our time is limited,” Esther said.

“We collected more rubbish on the same road yesterday after two weeks and it had been mowed, and found even more trash than last time.

“We definitely have more content planned and have started a youtube channel to document our adventures, check it out, youtube.com/@psithurism-vi3iy”

To find out more, register or donate to Clean Up Australia, call 1800 282 329 or visit cleanup.org.au

This article appeared in On Our Selection News, 9 March 2023.