Young environmentalist takes action on Kaikohe litter

6-year-old Billie Cramer led a clean-up in Kaikohe with her family.

For 6-year-old Billie Cramer, the rubbish scattered alongside Kaikohe’s roads wasn’t just an eyesore, it was a sadness weighing on the land.

With that on her mind and the encouragement of what she had learnt at school, she rallied her mum and nana into a small but weighty mission to tidy the town.

The family got together and walked the streets of their town, filling rubbish bags with all sorts of litter.

They pay the rubbish fees out of their own pockets, a small fee to pay to show what Kaikohe could be, the family said.

Billie’s mum Sheradyne Ihaka said the clean-ups started after her daughter came home from school one day and explained some of what they were learning at school about cleaning up, and the importance around rubbish.

“One afternoon Billie had us on one of her spontaneous adventures to pick up rubbish. We picked up two big black bags of rubbish and we found mostly McDonalds rubbish and a lot of beer bottles. But what really shocked me was we found used medical needles.”

Their second mission started after the family travelled for Billie’s weekend sports and the 6-year-old couldn’t believe her eyes.

“She told me ‘mum we must clean this up, Papatuanuku (Earth Mother) is so sad. So we made it our mission to start the clean-up.”

Ihaka said it is important for residents “to do more like this in the community just to show Kaikohe is not all bad - there is potential”.

Ruben Garcia, Far North District Council’s group manager for delivery and operations, said litter and illegal dumping were ongoing issues that the council faces daily.

The illegally dumped items include large items such as household items, roadside litter and offensive or hazardous litter, including animal carcasses.

“We can provide official medical needle receptacles for sharp objects to volunteers if they contact council staff in advance.”

He said the council is supportive of people interested in cleaning up their local environment.

“The council supports community-led clean-ups and encourages groups to work with staff.

“Rubbish collected from FNDC-controlled land can be accepted free of charge at local refuse transfer stations, provided a risk assessment and management plan is completed and approved in advance.

“Our contractor, CBEC (Community Business & Environment Centre) EcoSolutions, can help develop these plans at no cost.

“From a moral, social and legal point of view, we must ensure that all workers (including volunteers), are kept safe when undertaking tasks on our behalf.

“We are particularly concerned about work on roads and roadsides and encourage anyone interested in this kind of activity to get in contact.”

He added FNDC has a Volunteers Procedure that applies to all volunteers who undertake work or an activity on/in a FNDC asset (which includes buildings, reserves, parks, etc.).

For clean-ups on FNDC controlled land a Volunteer Health and Safety Handbook is available which outlines the basic requirements. These resources are available from our Waste Minimisation and Sustainability Specialist by calling 0800 920 029.

The council asks residents to report instances of illegal rubbish dumping or missed collections on 0800 920 029 so that staff can investigate and arrange disposal.

Residents are encouraged to log an RFS (Request for Service) by calling 0800 920 029 and providing details such as the type, volume, and location of the dumped material.