Keep New Zealand Beautiful is asking Kiwis to ‘Do the Right Thing’ and clean up their local communities.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful is once again asking Kiwis to ‘Do the Right Thing’ and come together to make a collective dIconic Kiwi charity Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) is excited to announce that registrations are now open for its annual Clean Up Week, New Zealand’s largest movement against litter, which will take place from 16 September until 22 September.

Following the results of Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s 2022 National Litter Audit (NLA), Clean Up Week provides a proactive approach to tackling New Zealand’s litter problem.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful CEO Heather Saunderson says: “The results from the 2022 NLA were alarming, with the total number of items, volume and weight of litter all increasing since our initial audit in 2019. Clean Up Week is a great opportunity for New Zealander’s to turn their attention to the issue and take a hands-on approach to solving it.”

“We’re encouraging families, schools, businesses, community and youth groups or even just individuals to ‘Be a Tidy Kiwi’ and ‘Do the Right Thing’, get together, get involved and make a difference in their local neighbourhood.”

Last year a record breaking 67,400 volunteers joined together throughout Clean Up Week to help remove approximately 655 tonnes of litter across an area equivalent to 5,751 rugby fields.

“We’d love to break this record again in 2023,” says Ms Saunderson.

Clean Up Week will run from 16-22 September, kicking off on World Clean Up Day, a global movement that unites millions of volunteers, governments and organisations across 191 countries to tackle the global waste problem and build a sustainable world.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful is also offering the opportunity for those involved in Clean Up Week to take part in the organisation’s citizen science programmes, Upstream and Backyard Battle, which allow individuals to contribute to a national and international data set whilst gaining experience in data collection and analysis.

Ms Saunderson says “the effects of climate change are becoming all too prevalent for New Zealanders and for some it can feel like a helpless situation. However, getting out in nature, in your community and making a visible difference collecting and cleaning up your patch can make you feel great. Taking action can ease climate anxiety, especially for our tamariki, and it’s good to know you’re doing your bit.

“Litter as a problem can seem small when you come across a piece here and there walking through your local neighbourhood, but collectively it’s a huge issue nationally, not only to our environment, but also to biodiversity, our own health and climate future.”

Registrations for Clean Up Week are open now until 22 September.

Clean Up Week is supported in partnership with Waste Management, Enviro NZ and some councils, who provide participants with the opportunity to dispose of the rubbish they collect for free at selected transfer stations.

With the help of the Mars Wrigley Foundation, free reusable clean up kits will be available on request for some groups (including ECEs, schools, youth groups, Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s Community and Educational branches, Individual/Family and Not-for-Profit members) who don’t have access to their own clean up materials, and haven’t requested a kit before. People can also purchase reusable clean up kit resources at a cost from KNZB’s online shop.

To access free resources, participants must register their Clean Up Week event here. Resources such as event guides, posters, health and safety forms and certificates are available to download online once an event has been registered.

Find out more about Clean Up Week 2023.