Bin there, done that
One man’s quest to clean up the capital, Litter by Little: Our campaign to trash rubbish
Alan Samson could be Wellington’s first trash crusader, and he wants others to join him.
He’s 69, but the recently retired journalist walks more than most people, trooping across about seven kilometres a day on a tenacious hunt for litter.
Samson was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014, and had surgery for it the next year. But a problem after the surgery meant he could barely walk.
‘‘I decided to combine my feelings about litter with my determination to get fit, and I walked more and more each day.’’
So every day he rugs up warm, even if it’s raining or hailing, and he hits the streets.
At first, Samson could only walk a few metres at a time. It took months but he eventually built up to about seven kilometres. ‘‘It’s so good for me, I am stronger and fitter and I am more alert . . . I was in a bad place for a while.’’
His walk covers the Wellington Botanic Gardens, to the CBD, then on to the waterfront.
Almost three years since he started, he’s only skipped the circuit four times since day one.
On ‘‘bad litter days’’ the circuit can take up to three hours, he said. ‘‘Some days it’s been almost impossible to carry.’’
To ease the load he carries with him a small plastic bag, which he empties at rubbish bins as he passes.
His current plastic bag has been used for that purpose for several months already.
Cigarette trash was the biggest problem, then coffee cups and their lids, he said. ‘‘You see a lot of coffee cups, which really blows my mind when you see something marked as ‘eco coffee cup’.’’
Samson hoped his actions would rub off on others. ‘‘It would serve a double purpose for them, they could collect litter and keep fit. This is a wonderful way to adopt a circuit. It could be just around the Basin Reserve . . . or it could be your own street.’’
Litter in New Zealand was a huge problem, he said. ‘‘My biggest worry is that people see it as something for the Government or the council to deal with, rather than themselves.’’
Plastic waste was a humaninduced issue, he said. ‘‘People reducing their personal waste is the best way to go.’’
This month Wellington City Council waterfront activities coordinator Fraser Ebbett gave Samson a litter ‘‘grabber’’ tool.
Ebbett said if others did the same thing, it would certainly make a difference in the city.