Make a difference - Clean up New Zealand week

Clean-up New Zealand week –September 15-21 – is a great opportunity for all New Zealanders to do something positive to improve their environment, Environment Minister, Marian Hobbs, said today.

The Ministry for the Environment is a major sponsor of the Clean-Up New Zealand event.

"Thousands of Kiwis have registered their involvement in clean-ups across New Zealand this week," Marian Hobbs said. "School kids will be doing local clean-ups, community groups are getting involved – people from all walks of life will be doing their bit to clean up the environment.

"It's great that so many people are putting their time into this event and I applaud them for their effort.

"However, cleaning up New Zealand needs to be our focus all year, not just for one week. As well, we need to recognise that we all have a role to play in reducing the amount of rubbish we send to landfills.

"The litter and rubbish that volunteers collect this week is just the most visible sign of the growing mountain of waste in New Zealand. The government is committed to finding ways to cut back the waste that households and businesses produce – but it's going to take action from all of us to address the problem.

"Recycling all that we can, composting food and garden waste, buying products with less packaging, are all ways to reduce the ever growing volume of rubbish going to landfills."

For more information and simple ways of reducing rubbish visit the Reduce Your Rubbish website – www.reducerubbish.govt.nz.

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