Editorial: Floating rubbish ruins our waterways

The more we reuse and recycle the less rubbish ends up at our landfills and in our waterways. Photo / NZME

Living by a stream has changed me.

Every day I look at it and every day I see some kind of rubbish floating along it.

Plastic bottles, I've seen a rugby ball and a football ball, I've fished out a big plastic bucket. But by far the biggest polluter is bags.

Chippie bags, bread bags, plastic bags and then there are bottles and aluminium cans.
It's worse when it rains — more and more rubbish floats by.

I was pretty good with recycling and reusing before I became a rural dweller but now I see the result of what happens when people don't recycle I'm even more determined to make sure my rubbish doesn't end up floating down a stream somewhere.

The stream is the Irongate, which runs into the Karamu Stream.The Hawke's Bay Regional Council website describes the Karamū Stream as "a gently flowing waterway with areas of public reserve. It takes water from as far as the Poukawa Basin though Pekapeka wetland, and Bridge Pa before flowing by Havelock North to merge with the Raupare Stream and become the Clive River near Whakatū in Hastings."

Then it's out to the Pacific Ocean.

It's a bit harder to recycle when you live rural. We do have a wheelie bin collection but there's no council truck picking up bins at the gate.

You have to take it to the recycling centres yourself. Which is fine, except in level 4 when the transfer stations and the recycling centres are closed.

I have picked up rubbish beside and from inside the stream but I have no hope of getting it all.

Too many people simply don't care and discard their rubbish out the car window or flytip.

Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today.

Getting rid of plastic shopping bags has helped. Teaching our children and grandchildren that the plastic toy they desperately want might one day end up polluting our oceans is another step in the right direction.

Every time you dispose of something properly or choose a reusable bottle or jar is another step.

Here's hoping with lots of little baby steps we can make a giant improvement to our waterways and the environment.

■A shout out to the Waimarama community who are leading by example cleaning up their streets and the beach.