A Lake Hāwea clean up effort has found building waste was a major contributor to litter in the township.

On Saturday morning (September 17) about 20 volunteers spent a couple of hours picking up litter in and around the Lake Hāwea township, Hāwea Flat, and John Creek as part of Keep New Zealand Beautiful week.

Participant Chris Champion told the Wānaka App this year was his family’s first time volunteering at the event.

Chris said his family opted to clean up the far end of Timsfield Drive as they pass it often and “knew it was in a pretty bad state”.

Building waste was a significant part of the litter haul.

“In 300 metres of litter picking we half filled a high sided trailer with well over a thousand pieces of litter, almost all building waste,” he said.

Chris has urged builders and homeowners to make an effort to keep the area clean.

“It'd be pretty depressing to see it get back to that condition.”

This year’s Hāwea clean up had the lowest turnout in several years - half the number of the 2020 clean up crew.

Organiser Kaz Armstrong Smith said while the amount of rubbish “is better every year,” a significant amount of litter comes off building sites. 

The clean up effort was followed by a morning tea at the Lake Hāwea Community Centre. 

Keep New Zealand Beautiful Clean Up Week mobilises up to 70,000 volunteers every year - cleaning up beaches, picking up litter, removing graffiti, planting trees and much more.

PHOTOS: Supplied