“Bag it, don’t biff it.” That’s the message Eastland Port is sending to those who use the port, following publicity about rubbish such as forestry tags being found littering the surrounding area.
Eastland Port general manager, Andrew Gaddum, says the company has printed biodegradable paper rubbish bags with the message “Bag it, don’t biff it. Litter free Tairawhiti” and will distribute them to port users early next week.
“We just decided to take a stand and really push the message out to the truck drivers and other port users, that keeping the area clean and tidy is a shared responsibility. It’s simply not good enough for rubbish to be finding its way into the ocean and the roadways surrounding the port.
“We’re a busy, central city port, and we take our environmental responsibilities seriously. We’ve done a lot of work to make sure our log yards are sealed and regularly cleaned, and we operate world-class waste water treatment systems. These rubbish bags are another way for us to spread the message that everyone who uses the port needs to share our commitment to a clean environment.”
Mr Gaddum said a number of other measures would be taken to ensure litter was collected responsibly.
“Bins have been relocated near to the port’s log scaling sheds so that drivers can dispose of their rubbish bags on site, and shade cloth is being added to fences in our southern log yard areas to capture any litter that gets picked up in the strong north-westerly winds we experience.”
He said port managers had also scheduled a roster of volunteers to do a litter collection sweep of Kaiti Beach once a month.
“The volunteers will come from the various companies that use the port, as well as people who work at Eastland Port itself.”
PHOTO CAPTION: Eastland Group health, safety and environment manager, Jarred Moroney, with one of the thousands of paper rubbish bags the port will distribute to forestry companies.