New Zealand has a diverse marine environment and a coastline
enjoyed and valued by millions of New Zealanders. However,
Sir Peter Blake recognised that this marine environment was
deteriorating so decided to do something about it.
Involve your organisation in helping create a clean New Zealand
coastline by taking part in a beach clean-up. Once you have
completed your clean-up enter your results below:
ENTER YOUR OWN RESULTS
HERE
To September 2009
- There have been 541 clean-ups conducted in the period 15 August
2004 to 25 September 2009.
- More than 25.4 million square metres of coastline and waterways
have been scoured for marine debris in more than 918 hours of
clearing.
- The areas cleaned vary from 180 square metres to 5.4 million
square metres in clean-ups lasting an average of 1.75 hours each
but extending to as much as 6.5 hours in very large clean-ups
involving whole communities.
- In total, more than 392,000 pieces of marine debris have been
collected and prevented from entering the sea. This includes
approximately 108,000 fragments of materials.
- The number of pieces of rubbish per 100 square metres of
clean-up area varies from between almost nothing (Anchorage,
D'Urville Island on 31 October 2004) to 341.89 pieces (Mechanics
Bay, 4 August 2009).
- The mean number of pieces per 100 square metres of clean-up
area is 11.4 and the median is 3.33.
- The most densely littered place was Mechanics Bay on 4 August
2009. This two and a half hour clean-up by 5 Westpac staff yielded
3077 pieces of debris in an area of 900 square metres. This
included 550 paper bags, 400 plastic bags and 370 plastic bottles.
Also found in this area was a dead rat and a solar shower.
- The high density of marine debris found at Mission Bay,
Auckland on the 6 March 2007 was due to the large number of
cigarette butts that were collected, recorded as many more than
2,000 and categorised as plastic debris.
- Plastics account for just over 56% of all debris collected in
the period 15 August 2004 the 25 September 2009. Hard plastic comes
in as the second highest category of debris collected, and the
highest category, plastic sheet, has increased by approximately 3%
when compared to the data to March 2009.
- Two sub-categories added to the hard plastic category in March
2008 - lolly sticks and bottle caps - have shown increases in the
last six months. Altogether, 5,639 lolly sticks and 14,929 plastic
bottle tops have been collected to date, with over 11,500 plastic
bottle tops collected in the last 6 months.
- Some of the odd and interesting items found during the
clean-ups include half a sponge mattress, a steering console from a
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, G-shock watch, waterproof
camera, goat skull, truck battery, TV screen, computer monitors,
blowtorch, workman's hat, discarded wallet, road cones, a chainsaw,
cellphones, coffeemaker, bobsled and seven pairs of gloves in a
single clean-up. A 2m tinny was found in the clean-up at Oruapure
Bay on 14 May 2007, a 2.5m aluminium dinghy found at Moturekareka
Island by the crew of the Spirit of New Zealand on 19 October 2008
and yet another aluminium dinghy found at Tryphena (Great Barrier)
also by a Spirit crew. An intact bicycle, as well as bicycle parts,
was found at Mussel Bay, Otago Harbour on 5 March 2007 and a push
bike found at Lucken's reserve on 10 February 2009 and a rusting
boat trailer added to the most densely littered clean-up area,
Evan's Bay on 2 December 2008. Even the kitchen sink has been found
on our beaches, not to mention a dishwasher, rusty old fridge and
filing cabinet.
- Nineteen clean-ups have found distressed or dead sea life. 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 clean-up at Waihi Beach. Point Chalmers
Junior Syndicate found a dead seagull and a rough skate at Aramoana
on 7 March 2007. 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 clean-up on 2 May 2007. A
seagull was found at Okahu Bay on 13 June 2008. Students from
Napier Girls' High School found a dead young seal during their
cleanup operation in Napier and Fuji staff reported "quite a number
of dead birds and fish" on the beach at Omaha during their clean-up
on 17 November 2008. While not sea life, a large rat was picked up
in a clean-up of the area of the Tamaki Yacht Club in Okahu Bay on
19 June 2008 and another dead rat picked up at Mechanics Bay on 4
August 2009. In the period from 1 March 2009 to 25 September 2009
collectors found dead sea birds, a penguin, a duck and an eel.
- A total of 15,342 collectors have participated in the 541
clean-ups. This is an average of 28.36 people per clean-up, but
ranging from 1 person to 475 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, 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 were 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 clean-ups represent a sterling 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 the
staff members of corporate businesses who have taken part. The
danger to marine life that hard plastic, plastic bags, sheeting and
other pieces of rubbish pose is well known and the volume collected
off our beaches even in these 541 clean-ups has already made a
significant difference to that valued marine life.
News & Events
Young Leader Award
Red Socks Day