Sadly, I had nothing to put the mess into, and I left it there.
So when Sustainable Coastlines asked for help, the Herald on Sunday decided to launch Beach Busters, an 11-week campaign aimed at getting Kiwis out to help clean up our beaches.
It began yesterday at Piha beach, where about 80 people joined the Sustainable Coastlines crew.
One volunteer was Fly My Pretties musician Aaron Tokona - and he couldn't help but see the irony as he scooped up discarded plastic water bottles emblazoned with messages about New Zealand's clean, green image. "There's an interesting irony there," Tokona said.
"We've got a beautiful country. We've got to look after it. It doesn't stay beautiful by itself."
Fellow musician Fran Kora, of Kora and Fly My Pretties, was also helping clean up the beach yesterday, picking up dozens of cigarette butts, lollipop sticks and chip packets.
He wanted to keep the coastlines clean so his one-year-old daughter Coco could enjoy it as much as he has.
"I've been surfing all my life and I want to share it with her. I want to give her the buzz. We've just got to protect it."
Sustainable Coastlines event manager Ryley Webster said 500 litres of rubbish was collected yesterday, including 874 cigarette butts, 448 food wrappers and 349 bottle caps and lids.
Sustainable Coastlines co-founder Sam Judd said the turnout yesterday was a great start. Volunteers collected bags of plastic items, cigarette butts and even drill shavings.
Since 2008, Sustainable Coastlines have mobilised 18,000 volunteers and removed about 100 tonnes of rubbish from our beaches and coastline.
The clean-up should also help water quality. Recent evidence shows just how much that has deteriorated as orca whales in this part of the world have the worst pollutant levels in their body in the Southern Hemisphere
Today's campaign launch is detailed in a three-page feature starting on page 23. It will explain the damage we're doing to the beaches, how you can help - plus fantastic prizes for those prepared to do something about it.
Join the Herald on Sunday, become a Beach Buster.
- Bryce Johns, Editor
Join the Herald on Sunday and Sustainable Coastlines on the beaches this summer. The next clean-up is on Sunday 29 January before the Summer Sunday festival along the Matakana and Orewa coast.
Win a camera every week
Take a photo of your friends or family cleaning up your favourite beach and go in the draw to win a Sony Cyber-shot TX10, valued at $649.95. With an Underwater Sweep Panorama function and 16.2 Mega Pixels you'll be able to take stunning underwater photos, as well as crystal clear shots on land. We have one camera to give away every week for the next 10 weeks to the person who takes the best photo, as judged by Herald on Sunday illustrations editor Chris Marriner. Five runners-up will each receive a copy of the book Beached As - New Zealand Beaches Then and Now by Craig Levers.
GRAND PRIZE
At the end of our Beach Busters campaign, the overall winner will receive a grand prize package comprising:
* a Sony Tablet S valued at $749.95
* a dive, snorkel or sightseeing trip for two to the Poor Knights Marine Reserve courtesy of Dive! Tutukaka
* $400 worth of clothing from surf label Sitka.
Entries close each week at Friday noon, and the winning photo will be printed each Sunday. So get snapping, and email your best shot as a JPEG to pictures@hos.co.nz with 'Beach Busters' in the subject line. Make sure you include your name, address and daytime phone number. Include a caption giving the place and full names of the people in the photo.
Please see terms and conditions at www.nzherald.co.nz/HOScompetitions. APN New Zealand reserves the right to store electronically any pictures entered in the competition and to use the images in any of its publications.
