At Riverbend Park on Sunday, dozens of locals got boots on the ground to tackle the rubbish, with an additional focus on Covid-related litter.

This year's Clean Up Australia Day included a 'citizen science project' to measure the extent of Australia's face mask litter.

Plastic Free Launceston founder Trish Haeusler said the group had found 20 face masks during their clean-up and said the pandemic had seen an increase in the number of single-use plastics in the environment.

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"So we'll put in our data at the end of the clean up and that will help us see how many masks have been discarded Australia-wide," she said.

Ms Haeusler said they had also picked up a number of plastic bottles from Riverbend Park and she said this reinforced the importance of the state government's proposed container deposit scheme.

"That will be one less bit of rubbish that we will have to pick up," she said.

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"We know campaigns can work to bring about behavioural change. I only picked up one plastic straw today, I have hundreds of plastic straws that we take around to workshops from previous cleanups.

"We know that when we make a concerted effort to bring about a behaviourable change or a change of a design, then we can see a reduction of plastic in our environment."

Plastic Free Launceston was joined by members of local volunteer group Soroptimist International Launceston.

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Soroptimist International is a volunteer organisation for women who work for peace and to improve the lives of women and girls.

Launceston president Susan Johns said the group had made a concerted effort to focus on environmental causes and Clean Up Australia Day provided the opportunity to do some work in that space.

"It's an area that we are hoping to do some more work in, because it's vitally important- not just for women and girls but for everybody," she said.

Ms Johns said Clean Up Australia had provided a great introduction into environmental causes for the group, and there was enthusiasm to continue similar events themselves.

"I know that Catch It in the Catchment happens later in the year, and we have already indicated our interest in that," she said.

"But it may be that we may do some other smaller clean ups events throughout the year. You of course don't have to be involved in a major organsied event to clean up the river, you can do it at any time."

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