Summary of Three and a Half Years of Clean Up Our Coasts
- There were 113 cleanups conducted between 15 August 2004 and 14 February 2008.
- More than 2.5 million square metres of coast have been scoured for marine debris in more than 120 hours of clearing.
- The areas cleaned vary from 240 square metres to 450000 square metres in cleanups lasting an average of 1.2 hours each but extending to as much as 6 hours in very large cleanups involving whole communities.
- Sixty three of the cleanups have been carried out by crews onboard the Spirit of New Zealand.
- Twenty one cleanup operations have been carried out by students from Mount Hobson Middle School.
- Nineteen cleanups have been carried out by schools in various places in the country and some schools have done more than one cleanup.
- These are Botany Downs Secondary College, Good Shepherd, Matiere School, Matihetihe School, Motueka High School, Otomahoe School, Pakotai School, Port Chalmers Junior School, Southland Girls High School, Springbank School, Taupaki School, Timaru South School. Community organisations that have carried out cleanup operations are the Nelson Volunteer Group, Tutira Green Team, Rakino Island community and the Hawke’s Bay Guides.
- More than 31,000 pieces of marine debris have been collected and prevented from entering the sea.
- The number of pieces of rubbish per 100 square metres of cleanup area varies from between almost nothing (Anchorage, D’Urville Island on 31 October 2004) to 93.76 pieces (Mission Bay shoreline, 6 March 2007).
- The mean number of pieces per 100 square metres of cleanup area is 8.78 and the median is 2.13.
- The high density of marine debris found at Mission Bay on 6 March 2007 is due to the very large number of cigarette butts that were collected during that cleanup. The number of cigarette butts is recorded as many more than 2000!
- Plastics account for just over 52% of all debris collected in the period 15 August 2004 to 14 February 2008.
- Some of the interesting items found during the cleanups include half a sponge mattress, steering console from burnt boat, diving mask, wetsuit sleeve, 3 sq metres of carpet (Whangamumu Harbour), piece of car fender, car bumper, car door seal, car rims, piece of surfboard and 2 hubcaps. Headphones, lambing rings, picnic table, phone card, metal chain with a hook at one end, sheep wool, ferry ticket and a goat skull are among other odd and interesting things collected. A 2m tinny was found in the cleanup at Oruapure Bay on 14 May 2007, an intact bicycle as well as bicycle parts found at Mussel Bay, Otago Harbour on 5 March 2007.
- Three cleanups have found distressed or dead sea life in their cleanups. On 7 March 2006 students from Botany Downs Secondary College found a very distressed seagull with a hook through its beak and entangled in fishing line in their cleanup at Waihi Beach. Students from Pakotai School found 2 dead penguins and a seagull at McGregor’s Bay, Taiharuru on 15 March 2007. Students from Taupaki School found 4m of trawl net with an entangled dead penguin at their Muriwai cleanup on 2 May 2007.
- A total of 4225 collectors have participated in the 113 cleanups. This is an average of 37.39 people per cleanup but ranging from 3 people to 155 people.
- On 28 January 2007 the Rakino Island Community Group cleaned the coastal areas of Rakino Island. This involved 60 people in 2 hours of cleaning. They reported that because they sorted their marine debris this year that they filled an entire wheelie bin with recyclables.
- On Saturday, 10 March 2007, Matihetihe School organised a huge community operation along a 15km stretch of the Mitimiti foreshore. The school involved the staff, students, and whanau and so 48 people cleaned their beaches over a period of five and a half hours. They divided into three groups and collected and sorted the rubbish along their beaches. Among the debris collected was 93 glass bottles, 260 plastic bottles, a mountain of plastic (too much to count), 52 shoes, 50 strapping loops, approximately 20m of fishing line and 9 pieces of monofilament net.
- All of these cleanups represent an amazing effort on the part of the crews of the Spirit of New Zealand, the staff and students of the many schools, members of community organisations and joining more recently the staff members of corporate businesses who have taken part. The danger to marine life that hard plastic, plastic bags and sheeting pose is well known and the volume collected off our beaches even in these 113 cleanups has already made a significant difference to that valued marine life.
