Local Focus: Anti-litter 'pester power' for sustainable beauty

Tamariki are telling people in Hasting to clean up their act and stay beautiful, and that's the goal of a renewed campaign launched by Hastings District Council on Saturday.

The council plans to stop littering using the "pester power" of children, helping to develop a cultural intolerance of littering.

And it's extended an anti-litter campaign by bringing cartoon characters to life.

"We are introducing two new mascots within Hastings," Hastings District Councillor Wendy Schollum said.

"We've got our Litter Legend Luke and our Cheeky Chucker Colin.

"Luke and Colin are best of friends but like in most relationships there can be a little falling out. In this case the little falling out is around litter.

"Colin our Cheeky Chucker tends to drop his litter wherever he likes and Luke is not okay with that.

"So Luke is here teaching him what to do. To do the right thing and put it in the bin or take it home and dispose of it properly.

"The whole idea is they will target families and children.

"Not because we think they are causing the littering, but because we know they care and so they are going to take a message home.

"So if you have kids as I do, you'll know of the immense pester power that is at play.

"When kids bring home a message it tends to stick. What we want to do is turn all the children for Hastings into advocates for anti litter."

Schollum said Hastings was declared the most beautiful city in the Keep New Zealand Beautiful awards, so it's "part of our responsibility as a community to now keep Hastings beautiful".

She said research showed that 18 per cent of people drop litter, and that litter soon mounts up.

"If we found that 18 per cent of everyone in Hastings dropped litter - even just one piece a day - over one week, that would be a hundred thousand pieces of litter, which is a huge amount and potentially ending up in Te Karamū Stream and polluting our beautiful waterways.

"So it is about keeping Hastings beautiful but also protecting our beautiful environment here."

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