March 28, 2002

Environment Minister Marian Hobbs will roll up her sleeves and join in the ARC’s ninth annual Muriwai Beach Clean Up next weekend.

The Minister will be doing her bit alongside an estimated 300 volunteers and the New Zealand Armed Forces to clean up the West Coast Beach.

ARC Parks and Recreation Chairman Bill Burrill, who will also be helping out, says Ms Hobbs is likely to have her hands full .

“If the last two years are anything to go by we can expect to remove about 30 cubic metres of litter on the day. Much of it is marine debris such as plastic, tangled fishing nets and lines which pose a major to wildlife of the Muriwai environment,” Cr Burrill says.

The New Zealand Armed Forces are again providing personnel and unimogs which will carry volunteers, including Marian Hobbs, to and from the far reaches of the beach.

Ms Hobbs is especially keen to attend the event because it coincides with the start of an ARC environmental action programme called The Big Clean Up which is being supported by The Ministry for the Environment.

That programme will provide householders in the Auckland region with a 10 point action plan outlining simple things they can do to help clean up Auckland’s environment.

Cr Burrill says for those wishing to help clean up the environment there’s no better place to start than at Muriwai Beach on Sunday 7 April.

Volunteers should meet in the Muriwai Motor Camp carpark for a 10am start. The day finishes withs a free barbecue and spot prizes at 3pm.

Along with the NZ Armed Forces, Carter Holt Harvey, Department of Conservation, Waiwera Springs and the Rodney District Council will be supporting the event.

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