Small Steps, Big Impact - Cleaning up Whitianga

Whitianga Cleanup Day, will be held on Saturday September 21st, kicking off at Whitianga Beach Reserve from 9.30am - 12.30pm. 

At last year’s Cleanup Day event, 780kg of waste was collected by volunteers in Whitianga alone.  This year the target is over 1000kgs.

Wāhi Tukurua Chair, Tracey Bell says it saddens her to see the increasing disregard some people have to disposing the waste they generate, and warns of the dangers posed to our natural world and wildlife by this behaviour. 

The impact of waste in the environment can be devastating.  In March this year a 10-day old albatross chick was found dead after ingesting plastic which had been regurgitated and fed to it by its parent. The species of albatross or Toroa, one of the largest seabirds in the world, has a conservation status of ‘nationally vulnerable’. In 2020 an adult bird was captured on video choking to death after swallowing a whole plastic bottle.

And the albatross is only one of many wildlife threatened by litter and waste discarded carelessly by humans. On their website, Greenpeace Aotearoa tells of how seals, sea turtles, seabirds and other marine life can become entangled in plastic fishing nets, swallow plastic objects and die from strangulation, amputation, choking or other long, painful and slow deaths. 

Why have we become so disgusting with our waste disposal habits? Since 1977, litter management organisation Keep NZ Beautiful campaigned with slogans such as “Be a Tidy Kiwi”.  Schools took up this mantra and young people everywhere were educated about the dangers of waste products being carelessly discarded.  There was a real swell of community pride and commitment.  What has changed? 

In their 2022 audit, Keep NZ Beautiful found that rubbish littering our outdoor spaces had increased 335% since the previous audit in 2019. There was an increase of 80% in weight and 22% in the count of discarded items. Illegal dumping had increased 280%. Data showed that most people who littered did so within 10 metres of a rubbish bin.

Cigarette butts contributed largely to the litter and more recently vaping items have come into the mix. Other waste included plastic, beer bottles, snack wrappers, paper and cardboard.

The most common brands littered included McDonalds, Cadbury, Long White, Speights, Coca Cola, V, Corona, and Steinlager.

Greenpeace Aotearoa is calling for a ban on single use plastics (SUPs) and advocates for legislation requiring manufacturers to use alternative packaging. But the call must also go out to the consumers, the mums, dads, kids, tradies, holiday makers, playground users and beach goers.

“Stop and think before you consume and before you discard anything” says Tracey. “Make sure your waste is securely disposed of and not likely to be caught by wind and end up in our waterways or natural spaces.” 

For anyone equally saddened by the local waste pollution , Whitianga Cleanup Day is a chance to make good. The Wahi Tukurua team urges you to remember “Small steps, big impact - Join the Cleanup!” and would love to see you on the day. 

World Cleanup Day presents a unique opportunity for the community to come together and make a tangible difference to the sustainability and cleanliness of our environment. Everyone is welcome and everyone can make a difference. Last year over 65 people from all walks of life came together - from families and neighbourhood friends to our Filipino community and Year 7 & 8 MBAS school students. 

It’s a powerful and practical thing we can do in the face of the often overwhelming climate crisis information explosion. Importantly, it’s also a fun way for each of us to express our values and show how seriously we take our responsibility to the planet and future generation. 

“Come on out for Cleanup Day to help make a difference. Bring your gloves, any old bags, bins, buckets or other containers to avoid using plastic bags and let’s keep Whitianga beautiful!!”

Learn more by clicking on the link to the Wāhi Tukurua community page below.