Auckland Council, Counties Manukau Police, Citycare Property and Civic Contractors partner to help keep Franklin clean.

In December, Citycare Property received a request from Auckland Council’s Facilities Manager – Franklin, Sam Isaia, for a donation of 1000 rubbish bags that could be handed out to visitors to beaches and parks around the Franklin area over the holiday period — to encourage people to take their rubbish home with them, or at the very least, to bag it.

Police officers handed out 1000 rubbish bags to residents and visitors to Franklin beaches and parks as part of the initiative.

“My team and I had a hui with the Counties Manukau Police Check Points team around what we could do over the summer period to help the people of Franklin keep Franklin clean and beautiful,” says Sam. “The rubbish bag initiative was one of the projects that we proposed, provided we could source the bags through our community partners.”

Jody Deer, Citycare Property’s Subcontractor Manager, answered the call and immediately contacted Bjorn Revfeim of Civic Contractors — one of Citycare Property’s subcontractors — who, in turn, didn’t hesitate in donating all 1000 bags.

“Bjorn and the Civic team have donated thousands of rubbish bags, as well as given of their time, for various community events and initiatives such as this, and as always, their support was greatly appreciated,” says Jody.

Enhancing our communities

With the bags secured, Jody arranged a hand-over to Sam and representatives of Counties Manukau Police, who then set about putting the initiative into practice across the district’s reserves and beaches.

Auckland Council Facilities Manager – Franklin, Sam Isaia (centre), hands the rubbish bags over to Constable Jack Hibbs and Senior Sergeant Anson Lin of Counties Manukau Police.

“In the lead up to Christmas, members of my Fisheries & Compliance teams joined Counties Manukau Police in handing out the bags at various check points around Franklin,” says Sam. “We were all really thrilled by the community’s response to and engagement with the initiative, with many saying how much they appreciated the gesture and were heartened by the collaborative approach we had taken.

“I just want to extend my thanks to Citycare Property and to Civic Contractors, as well as to my partners at Counties Manukau Police for going the extra mile to ensure its success.”

Through this initiative, visitors to Franklin and Franklin residents were encouraged to bag their rubbish and take it home with them, helping to keep the community cleaner over the vacation period and preventing loose litter from ending up in the ocean.