Interview: How Keep New Zealand Beautiful is mobilising Aotearoa to take action on litter

No doubt you’re familiar with the NZ famous ‘Be a tidy kiwi’ slogan - but how much do you know about the organisation behind it and what they actually do?

With World Cleanup Day this month - Nonstop Solutions was able to interview Mike from Keep New Zealand Beautiful - a not-for-profit charitable organisation that works to educate, inspire and empower Kiwis to Keep New Zealand Beautiful.  They just so happen to also be the fantastic organisation behind Aotearoa’s annual Clean Up Week!

Mike, thanks for taking the time to speak to us about Keep New Zealand Beautiful. What is KNZB and what do you do?

We were established by the Government in 1967 as the Anti-Litter Council with the sole purpose of tackling litter in New Zealand. Today, 55 years later, we do so much more than that! Our focus has shifted from just litter, and we now tackle the wider implications of a growing population, growing consumption and as a result the growing waste problems we face here in Aotearoa. 

As we face the next 55 years, we’re keen to ensure that we continue to fulfil our legacy as New Zealand’s most iconic and recognisable environmental organisation, dedicated not just to litter abatement but also to the creation of a more sustainable, ecologically diverse and pollution free future for all New Zealanders.

What goals is KNZB currently working toward?

While our sole mandate in the 1960s was litter abatement, New Zealand’s economy and population have exploded since then along with the scale, scope and implications of our waste problem. We recognise that the most critical challenges that waste poses to our country today are climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. We’ve pivoted our focus and our educational programmes from being solely litter centric toward ensuring a cleaner, more biologically diverse and climate-conscious future for Aotearoa.

Our programmes include school-focused educational programmes such as Climate Ready Classrooms (workshops designed to help students become more climate literate) and our Kai Garden Competition (encouraging students to learn and grow edible gardens); beautification programmes such as our Resene Wall Worthy and Resene Nature Murals competitions; and citizen science including our Upstream Battle and Backyard Battle programmes. 

Keep New Zealand Beautiful is also the national operator for the youth-led environmental education programme Young Reporters for the Environment, an internationally accredited competition that is run under the Foundation for Environmental Education banner (FEE).

Every year we mobilise thousands of volunteers across the country to take part in our annual Clean Up Week, New Zealand’s largest movement against litter. Individuals, schools, businesses, youth and community groups are all encouraged to get involved and tidy up their local neighbourhood. In 2021, we had over 30,000 volunteers take part in collecting approximately 300 tonnes of litter across an area equivalent to 2,589 rugby fields!

This year we’re also undertaking our second National Litter Audit, the first of which took place in 2019. In consultation with Statistics New Zealand, the Department of Conservation and the Ministry for the Environment, the National Litter Audit 2019 compiled data through the physical inspection and visual counting of litter in a number of specific, fixed sites. The information collected provides data on the quantities, types, locations, and brands of litter deposited across the country.All this work provides baseline data on litter across New Zealand to help inform policy development and will provide the basis for ongoing environmental reporting on litter.The results of the National Litter Audit 2022 will include an analysis of litter fluctuation since 2019 and is due to be released by the end of 2022.

“What we walk past today, we deem acceptable for tomorrow”

— Keep New Zealand Beautiful Tidy Kiwi Volunteer

What is one thing you wish more people knew about litter?

Litter isn’t just unsightly, it’s also damaging to our environment. It pollutes not only our land, but also our waterways and seas. It impacts our native bird and animal life and contributes negatively to climate change. 

What do you see as the key factors in empowering more New Zealanders’ to take responsibility for their environmental impact?

By using a bin and being a Tidy Kiwi, as well as refusing waste-creating products, reducing our consumption, reusing and repurposing products and recycling where possible, we can all do our bit to Keep New Zealand Beautiful and ensure a cleaner, more biologically diverse and climate-conscious future for Aotearoa.

Tell us about Clean Up Week.

Clean Up Week is Aotearoa’s largest annual clean-up event, where we mobilise Kiwis to come together, join forces and get out into their local community to pick up litter. It’s also a great opportunity to get friends, family, school, business or local community groups together to make a positive and tangible impact in their local area. Last year (2021) we had over 30,000 volunteers take part in collecting approximately 300 tonnes of litter across an area equivalent to 2,589 rugby fields!This year Clean Up Week is kicking off on World Clean Up Day – Saturday 17 September and will run through until Friday 23 September 2022.  Organise a crew to clean up your own little patch of the world and be part of a global movement.Together, each and every year, we make a huge difference.

How can people get involved with Clean Up Week?

Jump online and register at  www.knzb.org.nz 

How can people get involved with Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s mission outside of Clean Up week?

Our branch network around Aotearoa regularly holds clean-up events, tree plantings and beautification efforts and welcomes new volunteers. You can even start a branch of your own if there isn’t one in your area. 

Kids can get involved by way of our education or paint programmes/competitions or even by entering an article, photo or video in our Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) competition. 

We supply free kits and resources to community groups wanting to do a clean-up outside of Clean Up Week, or who would like to paint out graffiti. We also have plenty of programmes aimed at teachers and schools, to help them pass crucial skills on to our tamariki for a better future.

Or join us as a member and help us to Keep New Zealand Beautiful for the next generation of Tidy Kiwis!

What is the first piece of advice you would give to a workplace wanting to improve its footprint?

You don’t need to start big, constant improvement can have big impact. Sometimes it can seem too hard or too time-consuming to even start improving your footprint, especially in this busy business environment, but it could be as simple as encouraging staff to separate out rubbish into recyclables, organics and paper waste and having waste streams dedicated to each. And as time goes on, find further ways to iteratively build on your start. The effort is what matters and we think lots of Kiwi businesses want to 'Do the Right Thing’ around sustainability, so just making that start and keeping working away at being a more sustainable business is the way to go.

Any last words you would like to leave our readers with?

One of our Tidy Kiwi Volunteers of the Month had a quote which has resonated with me, of “what we walk past today, we deem acceptable for tomorrow”. I think every Kiwi wants a beautiful place in which to live and a cleaner, greener tomorrow, and everyone has a part to play in making that happen. 

To learn more about Keep New Zealand Beautiful or get involved, head to www.knzb.org.nz