Traffic cones, shopping trolleys, bikes, and a laptop: Napier creek clean-up uncovers eclectic mess

A clean-up of the Douglas McLean Ave waterway uncovered an eclectic mess and reignited fears of contamination of Te Whanganui from Ōrotu/Ahuriri Estuary.

Napier City Council shared some of the haul that its staff took out of the creek, which included traffic cones, shopping trolleys, bikes and a laptop, in a Facebook post on Friday.

“These waterways are an important part of our stormwater network. Keeping our waterways clean and clear of rubbish means we are helping protect Te Whanganui from Ōrotu and the ocean,” the post said.

Angie Denby, chairwoman for the Ahuriri Estuary Protection Society and a resident who lives nearby the Douglas McLean Ave waterway, said the creek had appeared in a bad state since the weather started warming up in the last couple of months.

“All this extra rain and the warmer temperatures coming along have caused the weed to grow exponentially, and in the last two or three months I have seen all this litter lying in the water because it is held up by the weeds,” she said.

“The weed is so long that a heap of other plastic and paper bits are all on top of it.”

She said she has an interest in keeping the city’s waterways clean because they all lead into Te Whanganui from the Ōrotu/Ahuriri Estuary, and all litter dumped in streams ended up there.

She said it would be a good idea to start a community group that could regularly clean up that section of the stream.

She said the stream near Kennedy Rd and the Mārewa shops was the old Tutaekuri River riverbed, and its cultural and historical significance was another reason to protect it that not many would be aware of.

Denby said she recognized the council had been working hard to clean the waterways, find out who is polluting them and carry out monitoring, and she realized she needed to be more proactive, too.

“I’ve started to realize it is no good me just looking at it and thinking, ‘That’s disgusting’ – I have to take photos and send them to them.”

Napier City Council advises anyone who sees rubbish that has been dumped, or people dumping rubbish, to let them know by calling 06 835 7579 so they can investigate.