Anna Williams, Rotorua Community Crèche and Kindergarten centre manager, says they will be taking the children along to a park close-by which always has lots of litter and rubbish.
"We'll be taking our buckets and gloves and cleaning up an area we use."
She says this is the first time the crèche and kindergarten has taken part in the Clean Up Week, and would like to do it on a regular basis.
"I think it's really important for our children to be involved in things like Keep New Zealand Beautiful's events. They are our leaders of tomorrow.
"We have such a beautiful country, and it is important for them to learn how to look after it."
Anna says the children have been told about the clean-up event and are excited to take part.
"I got a bag of rubbish and threw it on the floor. They said, 'Oh, that's naughty', and were horrified. They are aware of the importance of not throwing litter.
"I think we take our beautiful country for granted. We know Aotearoa is a beautiful country to live in, but it doesn't look after itself."
She encouraged people to sign up and to talk to their children about sustainability and the environment - "Children are more than capable of understanding the importance of sustainability".
Rotorua Lakes Council's waste minimisation officer Meghan Cooper says littering is a complex issue.
"The number of littering incidents reported over a set period may vary significantly.
"Generally, littering is reported more frequently over summer months. Parks, reserves and roadsides are common littering areas, but strong wind may blow litter (e.g. plastics) to surrounding areas as well."
Meghan says littering is an issue because it is harmful to the environment, our personal and collective wellbeing and the reputation of our city.
"Litter in places where children play is harmful in terms of long-term reduction efforts because it works to normalise a littered environment, which is not what we want.
"Even one little piece can have an effect as people are more likely to litter in an area where there is already litter present."
She says littering is a problem that is created by the community, often inadvertently, by not disposing of their rubbish properly.
"The only way littering challenges can be addressed is by creating awareness within the community of the detrimental effects of littering on our natural environment.
"Events like Clean Up Week are aimed at educating the community on littering, preparing them to take ownership of the problem, encouraging their friends/family to dispose of their waste properly, and setting examples through participation in litter clean-ups."
Meghan says there are many amazing volunteers in our city who participate in litter clean-ups at all times of the year, and events like this provide great wide-reaching opportunities to share experiences and raise awareness.
"If you would like to organise a clean-up event in Rotorua, either during Clean Up Week or any other time, get in touch with our waste services team at Rotorua Lakes Council. We appreciate these efforts and can help out."
Heather Saunderson, Keep New Zealand Beautiful chief executive, says, "Clean Up Week encourages Kiwi families to 'do the right thing' and work together to clean up their little part of New Zealand".
"All too often we see litter within our communities and pass it off as somebody else's problem.
"Clean Up Week provides a great opportunity for everyone to actively participate in looking after their local environment, creating a more sustainable, ecologically diverse and pollution-free future for all New Zealanders."
Heather says, "Last year we had 30,390 volunteers dedicate their time during Clean Up Week to tidy up their communities, and we're urging more Kiwi families to take up the challenge this year".
For the first time, there will be the opportunity for those involved to contribute to
KNZB's Citizen Science programmes as part of Clean Up Week.
"This year we launched both our Upstream and Backyard Battle citizen science programmes, which contribute to a national and international data set.
"Citizen science is a great opportunity for volunteers to make an ongoing contribution to their community, develop research skills and be part of a global movement.
"The data collected helps us paint a picture of the litter problem at a local and national level, inform policies and take action."
Clean Up Week is supported in partnership with Waste Management, EnviroWaste and some councils, which allows volunteers to dispose of the rubbish they collect for free at selected transfer stations.
With the help of the Mars Wrigley Foundation, free clean-up kits will be available on request. People can also buy reusable clean-up kit resources at a cost from KNZB's online shop.
To access free resources, participants must register their Clean Up Week event at www.knzb.org.nz. Resources such as event guides, posters, health and safety forms and certificates are available to download online once an event has been registered.
- Registrations for Clean Up Week are open until September 23.
Ways to help reduce the amount of litter
- Role model positive action and encourage your friends and family to do the same.
- If you are able to, take your rubbish home with you. This will help stop public bins from overflowing in popular areas and means any recyclable items can be more effectively emptied and cleaned before being placed in the bin.
- If bins are already overflowing, don't add to the pile. Take the rubbish home and dispose of it in your wheelie bins. Contact council and let us know if a bin needs to be emptied outside of its regular schedule.
Rotorua Lakes Council's waste minimisation officer Meghan Cooper
