METRONEWS
© New Zealand Broadcasting School 2024

by New Zealand Broadcasting School students

Cantabs in front lines to tidy up rubbish and rivers

Environment

Record numbers of Kiwis are taking part in a Keep New Zealand Beautiful Campaign to tidy up towns and cities.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful says its annual ''clean-up week'', which started on Monday, has attracted more volunteers than ever. 

There are 560, self-run, events planned across the country with schools, associations and councils getting involved. 

Sixty-three events are registered in Canterbury. 

The cleanup week encourages the community to get out and tidy up their own ''backyard'.

Earlier this year, Mayor Lianne Dalziel said Christchurch needed to "look a lot better" than it did if it wanted to keep its Garden City image. 

In 2016, the council received 1000 more complaints than it did in 2015 about rubbish, untidy properties, parks and other issues.

A council report said there had been a downward trend in public satisfaction over waterway quality, litter, roads and park quality since the quakes.

Keep Christchurch Beautiful spokeswoman Linda Keall said the single biggest thing that would improve Christchurch was people taking individual responsibility.

"Councils do their bit paying for contractors to clean and dispose of rubbish, companies need to be mindful of their own refuse and the downstream effects of it, and the public need to help too."

Keall said Christchurch was among the best cities in the country for its work to keep the environment clean.

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Kids helping out during clean up week. Keep NZ Beautiful

Keep New Zealand Beautiful national marketing manager Kath Doubleday said if everyone went out and did their bit, then it would be better for the whole country.

"People have already started posting saying they're ready for cleanup week - the public response has been great".

Doubleday said that councils played a key role in supporting each region's effort, providing places to dispose of the waste.

As part of the campaign, each city and district council was contacted and asked to support the cause.

Christchurch City Council does not appear on the list of those taking part in the week. 

Keall said the council would forward inquiries about the week to Keep Christchurch Beautiful.

When approached, the Council said they were doing their bit through their Graffiti programme.

 

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Two Kiwi take part in clean-up week. Keep New Zealand Beautiful

Plastics NZ did its part to help clean up.

Environmental projects manager Steve Wilkinson said the plastics industry wanted to help out. 

The organisation would run three events across the country, with the Christchurch clean up starting on Friday.