Bay Harbour: March 22, 2017

Wednesday March 22 2017
Latest Christchurch news at www.
.kiwi
BAY HARBOUR
PAGE 13
Your Local Views
Community cleans up Lyttelton
Lyttelton
resident Juliet
Neill was
unhappy with
the state of her
neighbourhood,
so she helped
organise a clean up. She
writes about the area’s
rubbish problem
Recently we had a big harbour
clean-up. About 60 wonderful
people braved the rain and slogged
away for one-and-a-half hours. I
expected maybe six or seven hardy
souls to appear, so imagine my
surprise and delight when so many
turned up. I can’t thank people
enough.
We covered areas from the Lyttelton
football field, right through
to Cass Bay, as well as the old
Shadbolt House car park. At least a
skip full of rubbish was collected,
as well as two bins worth of recycling.
As a Green Party member, I
organised this event along with
Ken Maynard and Chris Brown
(both Lyttelton Labour people),
not just as a political statement,
but to show that we don’t just talk,
we walk the talk as well. However,
my main motivation was my passion
for the environment and our
beautiful harbour.
In the 23 years I have lived in
Lyttelton, I have seen great change,
and none so great as in the postearthquake
years. During that
time, we have become increasingly
a playground for Christchurch,
meaning that more people come
over to enjoy our harbour, some
of whom have a very uncaring attitude
towards it.
One of the results of this is that
people can go down to the waterfront
to do exactly as they wish
and they do – chucking their cans,
bottles, cigarette butts everywhere
they go or drive, tagging and
sometimes lighting fires.
While the city council and the
port company do some cleaning
up, it is seldom enough and any
amount of clean ups do not get to
the source of the problem.
Meanwhile, wildlife, both marine
and terrestrial, are suffering.
Fish ingest the plastic in the sea
and, if they don’t die, they pass
it down the food chain, affecting
us as well. It is estimated that a
quarter of the fish we eat contain
plastic. So what can we do to help
instil pride in our local environment?
The first and obvious thing
we can do is to have better policing.
Our police station is no longer
staffed constantly. Some years ago
there was 24-hour policing in Lyttelton.
We all knew the police here
and they were friendly and helpful.
Secondly, we need to encourage
personal responsibility through
education. A lot is going on in our
local schools, but there still seems
to be a level of ignorance, wilful
or otherwise, of environmental
problems among adults.
Thirdly, we need to create
a coastal environment that is
pleasing and restful. Our accessible
coastal area has either
been stripped of trees or badly
maintained invasive species have
stripped it of trees and shrubs. So
much could be done to beautify
the area and make it a place where
birds can thrive, a place which is
respected and engenders respect.
Finally, and most importantly,
we need Government action at
both a local and national level.
This includes providing incentives
for the return of bottles and cans
(50 cents per item?). If plastic bags
can’t be phased out altogether,
then at least a charge should be
put on them to encourage people
to use reusable bags. We need
Government action to get rid of as
much plastic wrapping as possible.
There are many alternatives.
So a big thank you to all those
who joined in the clean up and
let us not forget that this is a great
start to pushing for change on this
enormous problem.
COLLECTION: Ruth Dyson also took part in the clean up, helping collect a skip worth of
rubbish.
MPs join residents to help tidy area
Green MP
Eugenie Sage
writes about the
clean up and the
importance of
reducing the use of plastic
bags by being more aware
of the damage they cause
to the environment
I was impressed that about 60
people turned up at Naval Point
on a wet, cold and grey Sunday
morning recently to help clean
up the Lyttelton foreshore and
tank farm area. In spite of the
southerly rain, people came
from Lyttelton, Mt Pleasant and
town. I worked with primary
school teacher, Bonnie, and
engineering student Sam. Like
many, they have busy lives but
wanted to give something back
to their community.
Thanks to everyone who
came, including Port Hills MP
Ruth Dyson, and the support
of the city council, the port
company and Naval Point
Yacht Club, we left Magazine
Bay, nearby reserves, the sports
TEAM: About 60 volunteers
braved the cold weather for
the clean up in Lyttelton.
ground and surrounding areas
better than when we started.
The rubbish removed included
tyres, old furniture, household
waste, broken glass, cans and
plastic. And there was the bonus
of meeting new people.
We can each do our best to
recycle, re-use, be conscious
consumers and avoid buying
over packaged goods. Groups
such as Plastic Bag Free Lyttelton
help with their advocacy.
But we need political leadership
by central Government to really
reduce waste.
Large retailers in the United
Kingdom have reduced their
use of single-use plastic bags by
85 per cent since the UK Government
introduced a 5p levy
in October 2015. In six months,
the levy saved more than 40,800
tonnes of plastic and generated
£92 million, which the retailers
donated to charities of their
choice. A win-win solution.
It’s estimated that New Zealanders
use 1.6 billion single-use
plastic bags annually, with
around 40,000 sent to landfills
each hour. Making them uses
around 192,000 barrels of oil
each year, which adds to our
climate pollution.
New Zealand is one of the
few Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development
countries which hasn’t
legislated on single-use plastic
bags. This is in spite of a 16,266
signature petition to Parliament
in 2014/15 supported by Forest
and Bird, Greenpeace and the
World Wildlife Fund. Government
members on the select
committee chose the status quo
and recommended no action.
That needs to change.
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