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.
Mark Amery
Kedron Parker has a new set of large poster works at the underpass at Inanga Love Park, Korokoro Stream, Petone.
I had a transformative experience once atop Maungawhau, Mount Eden, Auckland’s highest volcano. It was with kaumātua and historian Pita Turei. I’d been up there many times before. Yet, this time it was as if the surrounding landscape had been lit up. Where I used to simply trace the streets of the city I grew up in, through Pita’s storytelling different precious, productive and sacred areas came alive. Well employed, the arts can speak to the complexity of things in our city that are harder to see, and encourage us to take better care of our environment and each other. I’ve been in Wellington 24 years. It’s still not home but there are cultural touchstones that help me feel grounded in the city. They connect to things otherwise hidden, and they often draw us to water: artworks connected to a network of streams.