Battling a rising tide of rubbish
Des Watson scans the rocky shore opposite Nelson’s port with an expert eye. He stoops down and picks up a small piece of plastic.
‘‘Polystyrene. This stuff is everywhere – there’s not many beaches or waterways where I haven’t found polystyrene.’’
The Westport man has travelled the South Island for almost eight months. Each day, he picks up rubbish, collecting up to 80kg a day.
Last week he was in Nelson. While the scenery shifts as he travels, the debris Watson finds along the way is much the same: fast food waste, alcohol cans and bottles, clingfilm, straws, cigarette butts and lolly wrappers.
He gestures at the high tide mark, strewn with leaves and wood. ‘‘When you first look at an area like this, you only see one or two bits (of rubbish), but then you realise there’s a lot,’’ he says. ‘‘Once you start picking up rubbish, you see it everywhere.’’
The idea for Watson’s one-man odyssey was sparked a couple of years ago when he lived close to Rarangi Beach, near Blenheim.
‘‘I’d go for a stroll on the beach and fill a bag or a bucket. I thought I’d do a month, an hour after work each day, see how much I would get. After the month, I was horrified.’’
Last year he received an inheritance, and saw a way to turn his month of rubbish collecting into something bigger. ‘‘I was like, ‘I’m going to buy a van and trailer and go around the country picking up rubbish’.’’
Watson and a friend converted a trailer and added a a small living space with a mattress and a solar-powered fridge-freezer.
Kiwis Clean Aotearoa began in Karamea on New Year’s Day. It’s been a long, solitary and often confronting journey.
‘‘Sometimes it’s overwhelming,’’ Watson says.
‘‘I have learned to control my emotions. If I’m angry or p .... d off, it’s not going to change the fact rubbish is there. I just pick it up.’’
He spent a month joining the cleanup effort at Fox Glacier after a flood ripped open the village’s landfill in March.
‘‘The amount of rubbish was overwhelming for a lot of people. Some people were breaking down
and crying, but most people were in really good spirits – there was a real positive vibe.’’
While he’d love to see more people grab a bag and pick up rubbish, he’s more concerned about the impact of our everyday lives on the environment.
‘‘Look at what we buy. Is it a want or a need? When you look at a pack of chocolate biscuits, it’s got two bits of plastic – you eat it in one or two sittings, but the plastic is here forever. I’m not saying don’t eat it, but we have really got to look at what we are doing to our planet.’’
Next week, Watson plans to hit the North Island. With the inheritance long gone, he is relying on Givealittle donations, and has set up a Patreon page. He also plans to do the odd bit of gardening or carpentry work along the way.
He’ll keep going as long as he can, he says.
‘‘I’m only one person, but if I can inspire one or two others, they can get the ball rolling and inspire others, too. I want to show that we are capable of so much more – we can do magical things.’’
Anyone wanting to help Watson can get in touch with him through his Facebook page, Kiwis Clean Aotearoa.