KEY POINTS:
It's not what Fatima Avdic planned for her summer holiday - picking up used nappies, food wrappers and other discarded rubbish bobbing in the shallows at Long Bay on the North Shore.
Since Christmas, the Torbay resident has taken to carrying a big rubbish sack when she walks
her greyhound on the beach in the evenings.
On Boxing Day, beachgoers left the beach in such a state that Fatima Avdic and a neighbour filled two 60-litre council rubbish bags from half the length of the beach.
Among the rubbish were nappies, sanitary pads, plastic bottles, snack wrappers, plastic and Styrofoam plates and cups, plastic bags and glass bottles.
"It's just a tragedy," she said.
Ms Avdic said she was appalled that parents did not pick up rubbish after their children, let alone encourage them to dispose of litter.
Orakei resident Linda Stratford had a similar unpleasant experience at Mission Bay when trying to play cricket on the grass reserve alongside the popular beach on Auckland City's Tamaki Drive.
In a letter to the Herald, she reported that three of her party cut toes on bottle tops and questioned what the council was doing to clean the beach.
A council spokeswoman said complaints of litter on beaches were rare. The well-used beaches on Tamaki Drive were groomed fortnightly down to the low-tide water level during summer and loose litter checks were done three times a week.
Other councils, such as Tauranga City Council, use rangers, volunteers and rubbish collectors to clear rubbish daily from Mt Maunganui beach. The council also uses a grooming machine twice a week on the beach.
Fatima Avdic suggested councils fine people for dropping litter on the beach, saying it would be a "goldmine".
"I would love to be a warden and fine every single person who litters our beautiful beaches."
The Auckland Regional Council has a rubbish-free parks policy reinforced in its brochures and on noticeboards which encourages park visitors to
take responsibility for removing any rubbish they bring to the park.
A team of litter pickers and cleaners set to work on the park at 4am each day and during the busy season it will take them until 10am to clear Long Bay regional park of rubbish.
But Ms Avdic said that was leaving the clean-up too late.
"Once the rubbish is floating in the sea it's too late, the damage has been done."
Noel Barber, who is the Wainui Park manager in Raglan, said despite the combined effort of the Waikato District Council and locals who voluntarily keep their beaches clean, at least four rubbish bags of trash could be picked up off Manu and Whale Bay on any given day over the summer.
"People need to be more respectful, as what is left on the beaches affects Raglan's ecosystem."
Mt Maunganui beach, which has up to 18,000 visitors a day in January, has up to two tonnes of rubbish cleared daily in December and January.
KEEPING OUR BEACHES CLEAN
Long Bay, North Shore
Up to six litter pickers clean the 119ha regional park from 4am to 10am each day during summer. The Auckland Regional Council has a rubbish-free parks policy which encourages visitors to remove any rubbish they bring to regional parks.
Mission Bay, Kohimarama, St Heliers and Okahu Bay
The Auckland City Council does loose litter checks on the beaches and surrounding public open space three times a week during summer, and does a a fortnightly grooming by machine of the beaches.
Raglan
The Waikato District Council has two fulltime staff picking up litter on Raglan's beaches during summer, and a waste company is contracted to empty rubbish bins every day.
Mt Maunganui
Rangers, volunteers and contract rubbish collectors clear up to two tonnes of rubbish a day during December and January. The Tauranga City Council also uses a grooming machine twice a week to clean the beach.
Whangamata
The beach and adjoining reserve are cleaned by the Thames-Coromandel District Council as and when needed following daily checks. Locals and the surf club help gather rubbish. Forty-two beachfront bins, 20 temporary bins and 10 recycling bins on the beachfront are emptied at least once a day.
- additional reporting by James Ihaka and Bernard Orsman