Auckland City Council Media release

30 July 2008

Go-karters accelerate community clean-up

Auckland City Council is praising the efforts of two community-based groups and their combined efforts to keep the city's waterways clean.

The Waitemata clean-up trust raised concerns about a large amount of dumped rubbish in the Waitemata Harbour's Whau Estuary following a routine rubbish patrol of the city's waterways last month.

Further investigation by the council found a large amount of rubbish within the mangroves near the local go-kart club. Mangroves are fragile ecosystems that have an important role to play in maintaining water quality and as nurseries for many common fish species. The Kart Club took responsibility for the problem and arranged for members to clean-up the affected area.

"These groups should be proud of the way they have sprung to action and have shown initiative and taken responsibility in solving this problem. We all need to do our bit to ensure our communities and city areas are places we are proud to live in," says Councillor Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga chairperson of the council's city development committee.

Allan Wilson, president of Kartsport Auckland, says, "About 50 of our members removed several large skips worth of rubbish as well as several hundred old tyres. We turned it into a fun day with a few laughs, along with a lot of hard work and a few sausages on the BBQ at the end of the day."

"The clean-up has been an ongoing project with new dumping rubbish prohibited signs, and a ground clean-up plan put in place for each meeting. In the past month we have also planted over 20 new trees and re-seeded several areas within the grounds."

ENDS

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