Due to its success, the Wollongong City Council and Corrective Services’ personnel program will be conducted up to six days a week.

The program sees people who are performing community service duties work on environmental or cleaning projects throughout the city.

Corrective Services teams have helped clean up areas in Puckey’s Estate and other sensitive natural environments where litter and debris can only be picked up by hand.

Council’s Manager Environmental Strategy and Planning Vanni De Luca said the partnership between Council and Corrective Services has been successfully running for around 15 years so the move to extend it to 5 to 6 days a week is a welcome idea.

“The Corrective Services personnel work all over Wollongong city and all abide by the safety and risk assessment strategies developed by Council and Corrective Services,” said Mr De Luca.

“These personnel are part of the everyday community. They have committed a minor offence and have been served with community service hours.

“The program allows a cleaner and neater city with litter and debris in public places being removed before it can reach our waterways and natural areas.

“Council is happy to assist the personnel to carry out their community hours by giving them jobs such as removing litter from roadsides, creeks, natural areas, dune areas, and beaches.

“They also carry out anything from removing shopping trolleys out of creeks, clearing away illegal dumping, cleaning up wind blown litter at Whytes Gully Tip, to the removal of Graffiti.”

Council and Corrective Services cooperate to ensure all safety procedures are in place and that detailed risk assessments, road traffic plans are carried out before the workers take to the streets.

For more information call the Customer Service Centre on (02) 4227 7111