'Tidy Kiwi' Call for Coastal Walkway

It's as bad as graffiti and is making our Coastal Walkway look scruffy and uncared for.

It’s litter – mostly of the takeaway food variety – and it has been getting worse during the recent weeks of warm evenings and sunny weekends.

“We’ve got Easter coming up with an expected influx of visitors and we’re putting in extra hours to make sure we’ll be showing off our award-winning Coastal Walkway at its pristine best – but we feel we’re in a losing battle,” says Manager Parks Mark Bruhn.

“As fast as we’re picking up discarded litter, 'new litter is taking its place – especially in popular lookout areas where people stop to enjoy the view or gather with friends in the evening.”

The car park at the end of Hobson St is again a particular problem spot. Council staff have cleared the bank beneath the lookout of overgrown vegetation and litter, and within half a day it was strewn again with rubbish – mostly discards from takeaway meals.

“For lowering people’s enjoyment and for sheer thoughtlessness, litter is as bad as graffiti,” says Mr Bruhn.

“The Coastal Walkway is a magnificent facility that we can be rightly proud of, and one way to show that pride is to encourage each other to be sensible when it comes to rubbish disposal.

“It’s all about being tidy Kiwis, really,” he says.

Rubbish bins along the walkway are emptied daily, but the volume of takeaway wrappers and boxes is much greater than the bins can handle.

“The message is simple: Rather than leave food wrappers, boxes and other litter on the ground or next to a full rubbish bin, take it home with you for recycling,” he says.

“We have the ability to fine people for littering but we’d rather people just didn’t litter at all.”