22 September 2007

Clean Up New Zealand Week - 1.3 million Kiwis turn out to clean up New Zealand

Keep New Zealand Beautiful achieved its 1.3 million participants target in the just-completed Clean Up Week. Chief executive officer, Barry Lucinsky, says he’s confident the numbers turned out, because he personally sent rubbish bags to pick-up depots as he’s done for the past two years.

“We’re always swamped keeping the clean up participants supplied but this year it was utter madness’” he says. “Requests overwhelmed us and this is the biggest mass-participation event I’ve ever been involved with. I thought 900,000 participants last year was pretty good but we’ve attracted nearly half again as many.”

New Zealand’s annual spring clean cleared tones of rubbish and litter from parks, beaches, streets and riverbanks.

“We had support from right across society,” Mr Lucinsky says. We had school children, service clubs, work forces and just about any group that cares about the country side and city streets.”

This is Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s 40th anniversary year and organisers are thrilled that enthusiasm is as strong as ever for the events it promotes.

“Let me give heartfelt thanks to all who took part in this event,” Mr Lucinsky says, “The parents who dropped their kids off to participate, the parents who stayed to help, club secretaries, school teachers and pupils, service organisations and employers and employees. All found somewhere that was littered and rubbish-strewn and actually did something about it.”

Mr Lucinsky says he believes that for every dozen or so participants who make this annual effort he can count on 2 or 3 who will continue this behaviour throughout the year and influence others by example.

“Look beyond the gatepost,” he urges, “There’s a lovely country out there desperate for a little TLC.”

Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s annual meeting is being held over the weekend at Lincoln Green Conference Centre, Waitakere City.

ENDS

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