Throughout summer, Auckland’s parks, beaches, and Hauraki Gulf islands are flooded with day-trippers, campers, and holidaymakers.
To keep our public spaces attractive, we encourage everyone to put litter in its right place while out and about.
Enjoying our natural environment is a privilege and the best gift we can give it, is to nurture and take care of it, not only for us to enjoy today but for future generations.
There are no bins at our regional parks and limited rubbish bins at local parks, so we encourage people to please be responsible and take their waste home with them.
Please don’t put rubbish in or on an overflowing bin as the rubbish could end up in our waterways; take it home and dispose of it the right way.
If you do spot an overflowing public litter bin, please report it to us on 09 301 0101, and contractors will get there as soon as possible to clear it.
Manage the mounting summer waste pile
Waste is seasonal, and in summer there is always a spike. It can be as much as 3,000 tonnes of extra rubbish and recycling – which is more than 100 double decker buses in waste.
An increase in recycling can be a good thing, as aluminium, glass, and some clear plastics can be recycled into the same product multiple times. When you’re out and about plan to bring your recycling home with you to be emptied and rinsed before it goes in the bin. There is no reason to let those materials get lost to landfill.
Prior to COVID, kiwis were consuming a staggering 1.7 billion plastic containers a year, according to Waste MINZ. This includes 188 plastic drink bottles per household.
Taking a few minutes to manage your waste before leaving home makes a big difference.
Parul Sood, Auckland Council’s Waste Solutions General Manager says, “Public place litter bins are designed for small pieces of litter from passers-by and don’t have the capacity to deal with large quantities of waste. Dispose of all types of litter responsibly to make sure it doesn't find its way onto rural roadsides, city streets or into our harbour, parks or waterways.”
With some thought and planning, we can protect our public spaces and prevent unnecessary waste polluting our natural environment.
Do the right thing and recycle right
Recycle as much as possible by using your kerbside recycling bin. If you’re unsure about whether an item can be recycled or not, check out our recycling search tool.
Or test your knowledge by playing our Recycle Right game to see if you know what should go in your recycling bin.
