Calls for the community to get involved as Waroona enters Tidy Towns Sustainable Communities Awards

Residents of a Peel regional town are urged to get up and help keep their town tidy as judges for the Tidy Towns Sustainable Communities Awards are set to descend on town.

The town of Waroona has been entered into Keep Australia Beautiful Council’s Tidy Towns Awards this year which will see it compete against other regional communities across WA.

With nine awards up for grab, locals are hopeful to dazzle the judges who are expected to arrive this September. If Waroona wins the WA competition, it will be pushed on to the national stage to compete against the best of the best.

Waroona’s Magicbarn owner Annette Kent entered the town into the award and is hopeful it will be able to impress the judges.

“We’re doing a few projects to clean up different parts of the town,” she said.

With verge pick-ups, recycling projects and clean-ups planned to take place over the next two months, Mrs Kent said she wants to get the whole town motivated.

“We need as much help as we can get,” she said.

“But I think every resident in Waroona loves Waroona.”

Enlisted to help with the clean-up is Cameron Danzi from Cameron Collects who will take 10¢ containers to be recycled.

Living with a disability, Mr Danzi has found his passion in helping keep Waroona tidy and visits the town every Wednesday in his distinctive van to collect containers.

Originally staring his business in 2020, Mr Danzi has been travelling across the region, from Mandurah to Waroona to Perth.

Cameron’s mother Jane Danzi said before Cameron Collects started, Mr Danzi rarely got the opportunity to get out and mix with he community.

“It can be really restrictive as a disabled person,” she said.

“He’s developed skills he wouldn’t develop otherwise. He loves it.”

Mrs Danzi said taking part in the awards was a great opportunity to give back to the town which has supported them for so long.

Shire president Mike Walmsley said it was good to see community members take the charge on shire-wide projects.

“I always love it when something is driven by the community through passionate people who go and get it done,” he said.

“Sometimes groups rely on the shire to drive these sort of things, but the most successful ones are generally the ones that are driven by those passionate people who have so much love for what they’re doing.

Cr Walmsley said he thinks Waroona is worthy of being in the competition and hopes the town will have a good accolade under its belt at the conclusion.

Mrs Kent said anyone wanting to help with the clean-up can visit Magicbarn to collect recycling bags or drop off cans.

There will be several clean-up events around town in the coming weeks, with a major one planned for the Hamel Eco-Park on August 17 and 18.

“If we can have all 4000 people living in town, collecting cans and tidying up, it would be spotless,” she said.