Over the past few weeks, a few locals have individually taken it upon themselves to go for walks and pick up the rubbish from the car parks and roads.

Some locals collect at least one massive bag of rubbish or more in ten minutes of picking up rubbish.

Locals have had enough as the rubbish is continual and hurting their community.

Now, Salazar and Filip, two of the concerned locals have discussed their concern with the Upper Harbour Local Board.

The Upper Harbour Local Board has allocated $58,000 to the cause, to ensure council members are checking up and reminding the builders to dispose of their rubbish correctly.

Likewise, the community has organized clean-up days that anyone can join to help make their community clean again.

It’s great to see our local communities coming together to create cleaner suburbs in Auckland.

Source: Stuff.co.nz

There is no doubt that Covid -19 slowed down and effected waste organizations and businesses, therefore, Eugenie Sage says the focus for this year’s funding from the waste minimisation fund is now falling on “upgrading waste systems so they are resilient for the future” and working with “10 to 20 projects of strategic importance to waste minimisation as New Zealand responds to Covid-19.”

The result of the proposal is said to bring about more jobs and reduce the large amount of waste going into landfills.

However, the waste minimisation fund retrieves its money from levy charges from landfills, therefore, if the government wants to increase the waste minimisation fund to reduce waste, reuse and recycle more efficiently, the landfill charges will increase for average kiwis.

This means residential rubbish bags and bin costs could increase by 33 cents per bag/bin, going from $2.50 a bag to $2.83 a bag.

Not only that, but the landfill charge would increase from $10 a tonne to $60 a tonne, which means simply taking your rubbish to the tip gets more and more expensive, resulting in the government waste minimisation fund making up to $250 million extra a year up from the already $220 million it already receives.

The definition of the waste minimisation fund is said to provide “funding for projects that promote or achieve waste minimisation” and “helps increase resource efficiency, reuse, recovery and recycling, and decrease waste to landfill.”

The fund money will be spilt, half of the money will go to the local councils to spend “in accordance with their waste management and minimisation plans” while the other half of the money will be managed by the ministry for the environment.

“The purpose of the act is to encourage waste minimisation and a decrease in waste disposal.” – Eugenie Sage.

The new proposal isn’t supported by everyone, the Taxpayers’ Union have said the new proposal is a “revenue grab that will hammer poorer taxpayers.”

While Louis Houlbrook also disapproved saying that it will have a harsh financial impact on bigger households in poorer areas.

However, unless the fund supports new recycling indicatives and finds a new way to recycle ALL recyclable materials locally, not internationally, then the higher taxes for the landfill won’t help reduce waste in the landfill or reduce waste period.

Resources:

Stuff

One News

Green

MFE

It takes anywhere between 80-200 years for plastic to break down in the ocean and as this happens toxins released by the plastics get eaten by plankton, then fish eat the plankton, and then we eat the fish. As a result, the harmful plastic toxins come back to us. Furthermore, the wildlife not only get hurt by the plastic toxins in the ocean but they also get harmed by getting caught in the larger plastics and can’t get free.

So how much waste goes into the ocean annually?

About 8 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean annually.

80 % of this rubbish gets dumped into the ocean by nations and the other 20% is from ships and cruises even though there are rules against dumping in the seas. The countries that have the most trash flowing into the ocean are China, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam. This shows this is not just one countries problem, it’s a world-wide one that needs every nations attention and participation. We all share the ocean and all play a part in fixing the plastic waste issue. Recently, The United Nations Environmental Program stated in a report that over 143 countries have joined 18 Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans for the sustainable management and use of the marine and coastal environment. It is great to hear that many countries are taking small steps to fix this issue.

What can you do?

“You must be the change you want to see in the world – Gandhi

This means we all need to do our part to save the ocean and it starts today! Here are some simple things we can all do:

• Decrease your single-use plastic use.
• Use washable and reusable containers and bags for food and storage.
• Support businesses that help clean the ocean.
• Don’t support companies that have no regard for the ocean.
• Pick up rubbish near the beach, coastlines and near lakes and streams.
• Vote for your local government parties that support marine life and a cleaner environment.
• Join a marine life activist group and participate in activities like beach clean ups.
• Recycle materials properly by cleaning out and putting them in the correct recycling bins.
• Stay educated and ready to take action with regards to marine life and ocean clean up.

We encourage you to try at least three of these simple steps this holiday as you prepare and clean up for christmas. Because a cleaner ocean means a healthier environment and a healthier atmosphere for all humans and wildlife.