Love Whangārei Monthly Clean Up co-ordinators Karen Lee and Nick Connop, with their baby Logan. Photo / Supplied
Love Whangārei Monthly Clean Up co-ordinators Karen Lee and Nick Connop, with their baby Logan. Photo / Supplied
A labour of love will take place this weekend as Nicholas Connop and partner Karen Lee host their 55th monthly clean-up of Whangārei, this time on Porowini Ave.
Assembled in 2017, Love Whangārei Monthly Clean Up is run through F.O.R.C.E charitable trust, with an aim to "support the community to keep waste in the right place," as well as "provide a space for people to come and be able to do a bit for our home".
Armed with high vis vests, buckets and gloves, volunteers from across the region come together to tidy up dumped rubbish.
From discovering Star Wars toys, a Victorian era condom case, TVs, bags of rubbish, garage doors and entire cars, it's unsurprising that a whopping 33 tonnes of waste have been collected over the last few years.
Karen says there's a running joke with volunteers where they reflect on "how much of a car we'll find".
Some of the Love Whangārei Monthly Clean Up crew. Photo / Supplied
At one location they picked up five cars, helping police to solve some missing car cases.
After years of clean-up events, Karen says the location that hits her the most is the top of Parihaka.
"It's our sacred mountain here in Whangārei," she says, "It's a special spot, and yet people go up the top and dump their bottles even though they're lighter than when they were taken up."
Nick remembers finding a black bottle embedded in a Ponga tree at the Parihaka lookout.
"Three-quarters of it was in the actual plant," he said, "so when I pulled it out, it left the shape of a bottle."
More than 1,440 people attended the cleanups over the last five years.
"We're so lucky to have our volunteers, they're the driving force behind what we do," says Karen, "we wouldn't be anywhere without the volunteers."
Clean-ups have occurred across the Northland region, from Onerahi, Crane Road, Morningside, Otangarei and even the Tutukaka lookout.
It's clear the group is making a difference, with one location near Hatea collecting 700kg of rubbish in 2018, down to 250 kg last year.
At the end of the clean-ups, the rubbish is taken to the dump and sorted.
Recyclable products are always found among the trash located by the Love Whangārei Monthly Clean Up crew. Photo / John Stone
The difficulty, according to Karen, is the fact that dirty bottles can't always be recycled, which are the most common item found at the monthly cleanups.
"There's too much dirt on them to recycle," she says, "so a long-term goal is to fund a cleaning station to divert even more from landfill."
The Connops agree that reducing waste can be easier when we "slow down" and really consider what we're using.
An early childhood teacher and mother to their son Logan, Karen says rubbish can nearly always be turned into resources.
"We use bottle caps for learning about colors, counting and shapes, formula tins are drums, and metal bottle tops are great for magnet play."
She says communicating with people in your circle can help reduce waste.
"I think it's getting back to that 'it takes a village' mentality, not everyone needs to own a lawnmower. Communicate with others, and try to grow your own and make your own where you can."
The clean-up at Porowini Ave takes place on Saturday from 9am. Gloves, buckets and high vis are provided.
