Together we make a difference – that’s the key to Whakatāne’s Clean Up Week kicking off on next Monday, 17 September and continuing until Friday 23 September.
Whakatāne District Council is getting behind the Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) campaign, a nationwide collective aimed to clean up our own communities; and is encouraging community groups to join the effort.
As the current holder of New Zealand’s Supreme Award for the Most Beautiful Towns and City, Whakatāne has even more reason to get behind this year’s Clean Up Week. We encourage you to register and organise a crew to clean up your patch.
This year’s Clean Up highlights a climate conscious approach by encouraging people to organise their own reusable and sustainable clean-up kits using everyday items such as buckets and gardening gloves.
Registrations are open at www.knzb.org.nz for any individual or group to be part of New Zealand’s largest movement against litter.
Whakatāne District Council’s Transfer Station at 60 Te Tahi Street will be accepting rubbish from any groups that register their clean up event. Groups will need to show the transfer station kiosk operator their proof of registration from KNZB.
This year’s campaign aims to focus everyone’s attention on the volume of litter in our communities. Last year volunteers across New Zealand removed more than 300 tonnes of litter – equivalent to 2,600 rugby fields.
Keep New Zealand Beautiful CEO Heather Saunderson says the week encourages Kiwis to ‘do the right thing and work together’.
“Too often we see litter and pass it off as somebody else's problem, so Clean Up Week provides a great opportunity for Kiwis to actively participate in looking after their local environment to create a more sustainable and pollution-free future for all New Zealanders.”
This year, thanks to the Mars Wrigley Foundation, free clean up kits will be available on request to schools, youth groups, Keep New Zealand Beautiful Community and Educational branches, individual/family and Not-for-Profit members who don't have access to their own clean up materials.
People can also purchase reusable clean up kit resources at cost from the KNZB online store.
For more information on Clean Up Week or to create your own clean up event, visit knzb.org.nz