On Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th, we ran this event as part of Clean Up New Zealand Week. Several of our team along with a few other keen volunteers went out to Rangitoto Island with Hayden and Ben from the Waitemata Harbour Clean-up Trust. We found a lot of trash. Despite our experiences thus far picking up rubbish, it was still quite incredible to see just how much rubbish makes it through Auckland’s stormwater drains and ends up hugging the rocks, crevices and bushes in and around the high-tide mark. Even more concerning was the thick concentration of plastics called ‘Mermaid’s Tears’ or ‘Nurdles’ that we found by the handful all along the coast. Check out the links below for a good intro to the effects these nurdles have on our marine environment (and dinner…).

• Greenpeace: Ocean Defenders
• Wikipedia: Nurdles

Over the two days we picked up several boatloads of rubbish (and as many of the nurdles as we could painstakingly hand-pick), and transported it all back to the Waitemata Harbour Clean-up Trust mothership by kayak, and then on to the mainland for recycling and proper disposal.