Tonnes of rubbish removed in big Auckland clean up

More than 1900 Aucklanders rallied together to clean up five tonnes of rubbish, 500kg of recyclables and more than 200 shopping trolleys and 300 car tyres in South Auckland.

Manukau Beautification Charitable Trust operations manager Lincoln Jefferson claimed it as a record for the largest single environmental clean up in New Zealand.

It focused on 10km of the Puhinui Stream to the foreshore, along with Otara Creek -- areas which lived up to their reputation as "urban dumping grounds".

"It was truly humbling to see Aucklanders working together for the good of the environment on such a mass scale," said Mr Jefferson.

"We'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to join us in this remarkable event. The volume of litter recovered serves as a wake-up call that we need to clean up and protect our waterways, and not continue to treat them as dumping grounds."

The record attempt was co-ordinated by the trust in partnership with Auckland Council, Wai Care, The Roots Creative and Sustainable Coastlines.