Tidy Taupo volunteers Carol Lamb (right) and Shelley Brown picked up 17kg of rubbish, on the lakefront beach recently.
Tidy Taupo volunteers Carol Lamb (right) and Shelley Brown picked up 17kg of rubbish, on the lakefront beach recently.
A Taupo resident's anti-litter crusade is attracting plenty of support from other like-minded locals.
The volunteer work being carried out by Carol Lamb to promote litter awareness led to the formation of a Facebook page Tidy Taupo at the beginning of this year.
Ms Lamb, who spends several days each week picking up rubbish from roadsides and reserves around the area, said more than 200 locals had signed up to the Tidy Taupo page sharing their pictures and litter stories.
In the last 16 months she has picked up, logged and photographed well over 3000kg of litter along with two huge hauls of illegally dumped rubbish.
Ms Lamb said as well as creating awareness of the extent of the problem, Tidy Taupo gave locals keen to keep the area clean a chance to share their experiences and work as one entity.
"A lot of locals take a bag out with them when they are walking and a friend who often picked up rubbish around the yacht club beach while her boys were sailing suggested we create a Facebook page so everyone could share what they are doing."
She said the number of people subscribing to the page was growing every day with a number of out of towners and people from overseas following it.
She said residents who came across rubbish that had been dumped were encouraged to join up and post photos on the page so Tidy Taupo members can alert Taupo District Council litter contractors or send a volunteer along to help with the clean up.
Examples of the rubbish picked up along the Taupo lakefront.
"Our page is a great way of showing people what is happening in Taupo.
"The litter and illegal dumping is disrespectful to our environment and disgusting. We need to change the attitude that someone is paid to pick it up and encourage people to deal with their own rubbish."
She said one couple with a holiday home in Taupo had spent hours picking up litter dumped on lakefront reserves - including thousands of cigarette butts which can take up to 10 years to decompose.
"Several of our members have also helped pick up numerous illegal dumpings in the Wairakei Drive - Huka Falls area and cleaned up old bottles and cans thrown from the reserve into the bushes over the years and along walking/mountain bike tracks.
"It's all very sad and there are still a lot more areas to finish."
She said school children were also guilty of chucking pie wrappers, cans, bottles and lolly wrappers on the ground.
"So much so that we have nicknamed an area Pie Gully."
She said Kinloch members were also frustrated with rubbish dumping around the lakeside settlement.
Her particular passion is trying to keep Wairakei Drive clear of litter from what she terms "car litter louts" which can amount to between 40 to 50kg a month.
