Part One: The Problem
Rubbish, it's everywhere
In an era of mass production and globalisation, the by-product cannot be escaped. Let's face it, trash it everywhere these days, but Barry Curtis Park has been hit especially hard. Once a serene park with vast fields and glistening waterways, the trash throwing bullies of society has beaten out the essence of Barry Curtis Park. This isn't just a local problem, though, it's everywhere in Auckland, New Zealand, Oceania and worldwide.
What's causing it?
You may be asking, what is causing it? The lack of bins? The lack of punitive consequences for littering? The social norms that govern us behaviour? Well, it's a mix of all of all of them. Studies have found that people tend to litter in areas where there is already a prominent level of trash. This feedback loop is just going to perpetuate the normalisation of littering.
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A 2019 National Litter Audit revealed that 80% of the litter found in the country's waterways originated from the land.
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Cigarette Butts/Vaping were the most frequently identified items per 1,000 m2 nationally.
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Glass objects contributed to the largest litter weights per 1,000 m2.
Who's responsible?
You may also be asking, who's responsible for all this trash? In Barry Curtis Park, there are potentially thousands of visitors per year, with many having picnics and social gatherings where sole use items are everywhere. Many of the offenders are smokers, with the most prominent type of litter being cigarette butts. Though, the main cause of littering seems to come from irresponsibility and ignorance.
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According to the National Litter Behaviour Research document, New Zealand has a litter rate of 16%.
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Of the people observed littering, 53% were male. A quarter of the people observed littering were aged between 25 and 34. A further 23% were aged between 35 and 44.
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The items most likely to be littered were cigarette butts.
About Barry Curtis Park
Barry Curtis Park is a park named after Barry Curtis in Flat Bush. At 94 hectares (230 acres), it is one of New Zealand's largest parks.