Community groups clean up estuary

Fighting the tide: Ben Harris and Hayden Smith of the Waitemata Cleanup Trust teamed up with Kartsport Auckland to clean the Waitemata Harbour's Whau Estuary after the trust found rubbish among the mangroves.

From City Scene, published on 24 August, 2008

Auckland City Council is praising the efforts of two community-based groups - the Waitemata Cleanup Trust, and Kartsport Auckland - for their combined efforts to keep the city's waterways clean.

The Waitemata Cleanup Trust is a charitable organisation that removes litter from Auckland's Waitemata Harbour and inner gulf islands by boat or kayak and promotes the concept of clean, clear rubbish-free waterways.

The trust alerted the council after it discovered a large amount of rubbish in the Waitemata Harbour's Whau Estuary, following a routine patrol of the city's waterways last month.

The council investigated and found more rubbish in a mangrove forest near the local go-kart club. The club took responsibility for the problem and organised its members to clean up the mess at a weekend working bee. Allan Wilson, president of Kartsport Auckland says, "About 50 of our members pitched in and removed several large skips of rubbish, including hundreds of old tyres."

"It's great to see Aucklanders working together to help the council keep our waterways free of rubbish so we can all enjoy them," says Councillor Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga, chairperson of the City Development Committee.

Mr Wilson says the clean-up will be a regular project for the club from now on. Signs have been put up by Auckland City Council and Kartsport Auckland to prohibit dumping. The group has also planted new trees and re-seeded parts of the nearby Rosebank domain.