Iconic Kiwi charity Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) is excited to announce that its annual Clean Up Week, New Zealand’s largest movement against litter, will take place from 17 September until 23 September 2022, with registrations open now.

This annual community initiative focuses New Zelander’s attention on just how much litter is out there, with volunteers last year joining together to help remove approximately 300 tonnes of litter across the motu, across an area equivalent to 2,600 rugby fields. Keep New Zealand Beautiful is supported by its Ambassadors, renowned celebrity chef Michael Van de Elzen, media personality Stacey Morrison and artist Hayley King, known as Flox.

Heather Saunderson, Keep New Zealand Beautiful CEO 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.”

This year Keep New Zealand Beautiful celebrates 55 years of environmental community work, a testament to the organisation’s dedication to protecting Aotearoa’s environment. Being clean and green is not only vital for our own health and that of our waterways, flora, fauna and whenua, but also for the protection of our much-valued tourism industry, our climate future and the wellbeing of generations to come.

Anyone can get involved in Clean Up Week from schools, businesses, community groups or even just individuals wanting to make a difference.

“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,” says Saunderson.

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. The programmes are a great way for individuals to get involved, collaborate, and contribute to the litter solution while gaining experience in data collection and analysis.

“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,” says Saunderson.

Registrations for Clean Up Week are open now until 23 September at www.knzb.org.nz.

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 for ECEs, schools, youth groups, Keep New Zealand Beautiful Community and Educational branches, Individual/Family and Not-for-Profit members who don't have access to their own clean up materials. People can also purchase 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.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful Ambassador, Michael Van de Elzen is calling all New Zealanders to get involved. “Clean Up Week is crucial for keeping our communities clean, green and safe. Now more than ever, it is important for us to do the right thing and participate in Aotearoa’s largest clean up event – but it is also a lot of fun getting together with others to make a difference. By working together we can work towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.”

Visit www.knzb.org.nz for more information.

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