Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Craig Harrington and his team at the Allara Street depot look after the city.
If you think keeping your house clean is a big effort, spare a thought for the cleaning and maintenance teams who keep Canberra tidy.
Whether it’s your local shops or the city centre, it takes a big effort to keep Canberra clean and safe.
Across Canberra, the ACT Government manages 90 shopping centres. Town centres and group centres are cleaned daily, while local shops vary from daily to three times a week.
Canberra’s cleaning and maintenance teams start their day at 5am with daily responsibilities ranging from leaf blowing and street sweeping to cleaning toilets and emptying garbage bins.
Other duties include:
- picking up litter
- cleaning surfaces
- pruning bushes
- lifting trees
- pressure cleaning pavement
- removal of graffiti
- repairs to damaged street furniture
- minor maintenance of garden beds.
It’s a big job on any given day but after a big event, things can really pick up. This is especially the case for Craig Harrington and his team at the Allara Street depot, who look after the city.
When Craig and his team begin their day, they don’t always know what challenges will await.
“The whole day can be a challenge because you don’t know what you’re going to get until you get on site,” Craig said.
However, Craig loves his job and the crew he works with.
“I like the early starts, I like being out in the open, you’re meeting different people every day,” he said.
He just asks the public to be respectful, give them plenty of space and give them a smile in recognition of the work they do.
“The public could just be a little bit more aware that what we do, we have to do it,” he said.
“But generally, when they see us they could just probably give us a smile and give us a bit of room so we can get on and do what we’re doing.”
Find out more about the ACT Government’s regular maintenance program for local shops by visiting the City Services website.
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