James Ferrier: Polystyrene pollution an environmental disaster
15 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM
4 minutes to read
Ōwhiro Bay resident Jade Lorier with polystyrene balls which blew off the back of an uncovered trailer. Photo / Supplied, RNZ
Ōwhiro Bay resident Jade Lorier with polystyrene balls which blew off the back of an uncovered trailer. Photo / Supplied, RNZ
NZ Herald
OPINION Coast lovers were angry this week at polystyrene waste dumped along 7km of Wellington s south beaches. Picking up thousands of tiny balls blowing into streams and drains, one resident told Radio New Zealand: it s an environmental disaster. I m furious.
Ōwhiro Bay resident Jade Lorier said she was worried about the health of the nearby stream.
Wellington City Council fines contractor after polystyrene waste scattered along coastline
14 Apr, 2021 04:36 AM
3 minutes to read
Ōwhiro Bay resident Jade Lorier with a few of the polystyrene balls. Photo / Supplied
NZ Herald
Wellington City Council have handed out a $200 fine after an irresponsible driver allowed a load of polystyrene balls to scatter across more than 7km of Wellington s south coastline, including a marine reserve. We were alerted to a widespread scattering of polystyrene balls around the south coast last week by a number of complaints to our contact centre, one of which got the registration number of the offending vehicle, a council spokeswoman said.
Polystyrene waste scattered across Wellington coastline
11 Apr, 2021 07:40 PM
5 minutes to read
Ōwhiro Bay resident Jade Lorier with a few of the polystyrene balls. Photo / Supplied
RNZ
By Karoline Tuckey, of RNZ.
Residents are calling on authorities to do more to punish polluters, after polystyrene waste was scattered across more than 7km of Wellington s south coastline, including a marine reserve.
Ōwhiro Bay resident Jade Lorier was among those out collecting the waste from streets and front lawns, and said it was blowing into streams, drains and out to sea.
Polystyrene is not biodegradable. I m really worried about the health of our stream. We ve got native eels, as well as fish, I m worried about the wildlife in the marine reserve, Lorier said. We re trying to protect and restore this area, and this is just an absolute nightmare for the south coast.
Photo by Jade Lorier
Report from RNZ by Karoline Tuckey
Residents are furious that polystyrene waste has been scattered across more than 7km of Wellington’s south coastline, including a marine reserve, and are calling on authorities to do more about such incidents.
Ōwhiro Bay resident Jade Lorier was among those out collecting the waste from streets and front lawns, and said it was blowing into streams, drains and out to sea.
Polystyrene is not biodegradable.
“I’m really worried about the health of our stream. We’ve got native eels, as well as fish, I’m worried about the wildlife in the marine reserve,” Lorier said. “We’re trying to protect and restore this area, and this is just an absolute nightmare for the south coast.
Ōwhiro Bay resident Jade Lorier with a few of the polystyrene balls.
Photo: Supplied / Jade Lorier
Ōwhiro Bay resident Jade Lorier was among those out collecting the waste from streets and front lawns, and said it was blowing into streams, drains and out to sea.
Photo: Supplied / Jade Lorier
Polystyrene is not biodegradable. I m really worried about the health of our stream. We ve got native eels, as well as fish, I m worried about the wildlife in the marine reserve, Lorier said. We re trying to protect and restore this area, and this is just an absolute nightmare for the south coast.