Te Puke Spring Clean 2024

World Cleanup Day 2024: Te Puke’s Community Spirit Shines Through

On Friday, September 20th, 2024, Te Puke came together to celebrate World Cleanup Day and Keep New Zealand Beautiful Week with a fantastic community litter cleanup event. Despite the threatening weather, the skies kindly held out, and the streets were buzzing with volunteers eager to make a difference.

Local organizations teamed up to lead the charge, and it turned into much more than just a cleanup! After rolling up their sleeves and filling bags with litter, everyone enjoyed a well-deserved break with some delicious pizza, generously made by The Daily Café.

We had some amazing support from the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, who were there educating everyone on what can (and can’t) go into those recycling bins. It’s always good to have a refresher on keeping our recycling habits sharp!

Another highlight of the day was Predator Free BOP setting up a table with free rat traps for those looking to help tackle the pest problem. And to top it all off, EnviroWaste joined us too, sharing all the details on the fantastic initiatives they run and the wide range of things they can accept for recycling. You wouldn’t believe some of the items they can handle!

The public response was truly heartwarming. Seeing so many locals come out to lend a hand really showed the strength of our community spirit. Plus, there was noticeably less rubbish this year, thanks in part to the recent cleanup behind the Hall organized by the Te Puke Community Board.

All in all, it was a successful day of coming together to make our town a cleaner, greener place. Huge thanks to everyone who participated – let’s keep this momentum going!