What a load of rubbish
Part detective, part expert in muck. For Alan Pope, who last week won the Tidy Kiwi award at the Keep NZ beautiful awards in Auckland, that could be his job description
In 22 years picking up litter – everything from animal carcasses and medical waste to used nappies – he has collected an estimated 22,000 tonnes.
Since 2007, when the council introduced a bylaw allowing it to issue infringement notices, he has issued ‘‘well over 1200’’ fines to local litter bugs.
That is where the detective work comes in. The Hutt River and Waiwhetu Streams are popular dumping spots, and his job is to dig through the rubbish and muck looking for clues to identify who dumped it.
Pill bottles, addressed envelopes and receipts can give him a name and, from there, he has to prove who dumped it.
Fines range from $300 to $500 and Pope has heard every excuse imaginable.
There are all sorts of reasons people litter but, in most cases, Pope puts it down to laziness.
‘‘People are often careless when they put out their recycling and wind blows it everywhere.
‘‘Other people are just untidy. Cigarette butts are the biggest item and smokers need to be far more responsible, but people are just lazy.’’
Occasionally, he also has to chase down organised dumpers.
‘‘We have had serial dumpers sometimes. They are cowboys who charge people to take away rubbish and then just dump it.’’
As well as the disgusting stuff such as used nappies, he finds food scraps, tyres, batteries, builders’ waste and lots of dumped green waste on council land. ‘‘You name it and I have found it. We even find syringes from time to time.’’
Probably the most unusual item was medical waste that ended up in the Hutt River. It was in a stolen wheelie bin and Pope had to wade into the river to retrieve it.
Picking your way through used nappies or food scraps looking for pill bottles to identify who dumped it is not a job that many people would rave about.
However, Pope loves it and has got used to the less pleasant aspects. ‘‘I have a strong stomach. I am really hardened to it, it does not faze me at all.’’
Winning the Tidy Kiwi award was an unexpected thrill for Pope – he said there were lots of
Alan Pope
‘‘I have a strong stomach. I am really hardened to it.’’
volunteers in the Hutt who picked up rubbish every day, who also deserved recognition.
He is retiring in two weeks to spend more time with family but after collecting thousands of tonnes of litter, it is a habit he will not give up easily.
‘‘I might look for some part time work but, obviously, I will keep picking up rubbish.’’