Keep New Zealand Beautiful hosts their annual Clean Up Week each year, Aotearoa’s largest movement against litter! This year's Keep New Zealand Beautiful Week is just around the corner, kicking off on World Clean Up Day this Saturday 17 September. The ecostore team will be doing their own clean up in the Hauraki Gulf!
Clean Up Week is a fantastic opportunity for Kiwi families, schools, community groups and businesses to get together and make a difference in their local neighbourhood. In 2021, over 30,000 volunteers dedicated their time during Clean Up Week to tidy up their communities, removing over 300 tonnes of litter across the country; an area equivalent to 2,589 rugby fields.
It’s really easy to get involved. Simply head over to www.knzb.org.nz to register your event, and they'll send you all the information you need to make your clean up a success!
Here are Keep New Zealand Beautiful's top tips for hosting your own event.
1. Find a suitable and safe location in your community to clean up.
Your council might be able to point you in the direction of any litter hot spots.
2. Will it be a public or private event?
Your Clean Up Week event can be a private event with friends, family or collegues; or you can open it up to the public allowing other local volunteers to join in.
3. If you want others to join in, get the word out and publicise your event.
Public events will be loaded to the Keep New Zealand Beautiful website calendar allowing others to RSVP and join you. Once you register you’ll receive plenty of resources to promote your event, including posters and a press release template, to encourage people to get involved!
4. Organise your crew.
Organise how you’ll dispose of the litter you collect in advance. Take advantage of FREE waste disposal at selected waste transfer stations, thanks to Waste Management, EnviroWaste and some local councils up until 15 October. Have a plan of how you will separate out items that can be recycled - it is best to avoid sending as much littered waste to landfill as possible. You can contact your local council for advice about recycling in your area.
5. Create your own reusable and sustainable clean up kits for your event.
Gloves, tongs, buckets or sacks, sanitiser, sunscreen, water, snacks and a first aid kit are all essential to have on the day. You can purchase reusable clean up kit supplies from Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s online shop.
6. Make sure you have all the necessary health and safety measures in place.
Ensure you and your group wash and sanitise your hands before and after your clean up, that everyone is wearing appropriate clothing and being sun smart with a hat and water bottle to stay hydrated! It’s also important to have a separate container available to collect broken glass or other sharp objects. If you have children as part of your crew, make sure they know what items to ask for help with. Finally, ensure everyone who is going to be helping at your event is registered. A Volunteer Registration Form will be sent to you once you register for Clean Up Week to help make this easy.
7. Most importantly, have fun!
Clean Up Week is supported in partnership with the Mars Wrigley Foundation, as well as Waste Management, EnviroWaste and some councils who are providing free waste disposal of Clean Up Week litter at selected transfer stations across the country.
We hope to see you out in the community as we do our bit to Keep New Zealand Beautiful!