Tuesday, November 7, 2017
OHIWA harbour volunteer crew take to the water to make a difference.
Photos Louis Klaassen D6182-27
James Sandbrook
HELPING to ensure a green future, more than 60 volunteers got to work last weekend cleaning up trash and litter from Ohiwa, Kutarere and Waioweka.
It was the second clean-up day organised by Envirohub, an organisation dedicated to preserving the environment.
Volunteers headed out into Ohiwa Harbour in kayaks, provided by KG Kayaks, to retrieve as much rubbish as they could carry from the islands in the south-eastern area of the harbour.
The day yielded a huge amount of rubbish in bags and trailer loads, but participants were still unable to completely clean the locations, due to years of dumping.
Following the spring clean, volunteers got together at John Burdett Park in Opotiki for a sausage sizzle and discussion about recycling, and got to view a stall from Boomerang Bags Opotiki showcasing the difference people can make by using reusable shopping bags instead of plastic ones.
At the park, volunteers shared their concern and disgust for the huge amounts of rubbish that had been found. Whiteware, household trash and more were scattered over the various locations, the result of careless environmental misuse.
Many volunteers came up with ideas to help stop illegal dumping, with some asking for council skip bins to be reinstalled, because the current waste management did not work for them.
Others suggested making recycling free of charge in Opotiki, and having recycling bins in the town for public use. A popular suggestion was that more “no dumping” signs be placed at the more affected areas, notifying people that they would be fined.
Opotiki District Council is currently reviewing its waste management strategies, and volunteers hope their ideas will be heard and considered in the coming changes.