Far North gran's roadside rubbish blitz

Far North grandmother Fran Hambrook was so fed up with rubbish strewn along Wiroa Rd and Waimate North Rd she decided to clean it up herself. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A Far North grandmother fed up with looking at roadside rubbish decided to clean it up herself when she realised no one else was going to.

Fran Hambrook, 61, spent four weekends last year collecting trash from Wiroa and Waimate North Rds near Kerikeri, filling 40 bags in just 4km.

Since then the roadsides have again filled up with garbage so she's started again. So far she's done about 2km and filled another 22 bags.

"And that's not even scratching the surface,'' she said.

A lot of the waste lobbed out of cars, such as cans and bottles, could be dropped off free at transfer stations. But she has also found plastic bags stuffed with dead possums, fish frames and nappies; and in a gravel dump at the corner of Waimate North Rd and Wiroa Rd she has found a boned-out cow and 20 packs of rotting meat, likely the result of someone's freezer clean-out.

Fran Hambrook collected 40 bags of rubbish from a 4km stretch of Wiroa Rd and Waimate North Rd. Photo / Peter de Graaf

''I drive down the road every day and seeing all the rubbish depresses me,'' Hambrook said.

Every time it rained rubbish washed down Waimate North Rd, piling up next to culverts before it was flushed into the river and then into the sea.

''Last year it was so bad I went to the council assuming they would clean it up, but I was told it wasn't a council responsibility. I thought if nobody's going to clean it up, it will have to be me.''

Last year and again last month the Far North District Council gave her bags so she didn't have to pay dumping fees.

When she went back this month, however, she was told the council no longer gave out bags for fear it would be liable under health and safety legislation if a volunteer rubbish collector was hit by a car.

Hambrook said the problem had worsened during the past two to three years.

''It's so bad I think it needs to become a council responsibility. Maybe we need to pay a little more in rates and the council could create a job for someone to go around picking it up. We can't just rely on little old ladies to do it,'' she said.

She also urged Northlanders to take care of their own road frontage — ''that would make a huge difference'' — and called for a reduction in the amount of ''senseless packaging'' in shops and supermarkets.

A Far North District Council spokesman said the supply of rubbish bags to people wanting to clear roadside litter had been stoppeduntil a single, easy-to-follow procedure was developed to help organisers of community clean-ups.

The procedure would provide clear direction on funding options, the council supply of rubbish bags and other equipment, and the disposal of collected rubbish. It would also clearly define who was responsible for health and safety.