Is New Zealand Really Clean & Green?

I firmly believe New Zealand is really clean and green as we have a functioning recycling system, low pollution level due to our small population and lots of undisturbed and undeveloped land. However the introduction of pests to New Zealand has taken a toll on our native species, but action is being taken to prevent extinction and further damage.


In New Zealand we have a functioning recycling system to reduce our household waste. "Reduce, Re-use and Recycle" is promoted and advertised through-out New Zealand so less waste ends up in landfills. In New Zealand each household is given two bins, a large blue lidded one for recycling and a small red lidded one for rubbish. Trucks come and collect the waste once a week and transport it, the waste to landfills and the recycling to a recycling plant. By doing this it is clean and hygienic as rubbish is disposed of correctly keeping New Zealand clean. When recycling it is taken to the plant it is sorted, cleaned, melted and then re-used to make a similar product. It is more clean and green to do this as recycling degrades very slowly in landfills which pollutes the environment, for very one tonne of paper you recycle thirteen trees are saved and four cubic yards of landfill space conserved. The cost for this is covered within the rates an individual pays to the government each year to keep the system working, this is well worth it as it keeps New Zealand looking clean and green.


Clean and green is the image New Zealand is given and deserves because of low pollution level compared to other countries around the world. Due to New Zealand's small land mass and population, pollution is to a minimum compared to other countries round the world. Russia is the country with highest pollution rate and has a population of 140,702,096, compared to New Zealand with a population of 4.2 million and only a fraction of the size. When our pollution rate is being compared to the rest of the world we have the advantage of a small population as there is less people to pollute. This means we are able to keep or country pristine and conserve such scenery as Mt. Ruapehu. Tourist come and compare us to their home which may be densely populated and populated and appreciate our clean and green environment which we take for granted.

Undisturbed and undeveloped land is something New Zealand takes pride in as it gives the image of being very clean and green. Lots of our scenery it still untouched which means its filled with native birds and insects. New Zealand is famous for some of its natural sights such as Queenstowns Remarkables and Lake Wakatipu. The most densely populated area's of NZ are Auckland, Canterbury and Wellington opposed to the sparsely populated areas like Gisbourne, West Coast and Taranaki this shows the areas that would be the most undisturbed as less people live there, so less need for development to facilitate the community. Benefits of this undisturbed and undeveloped land is that it looks amazing and green and with more the trees we have, the more carbon dioxide absorbed during photosynthesis which keeps our air clean. It is rare to find so much undisturbed land in a populated country, this attracts tourists as it is unusual and appreciated by them resulting in the image of being clean and green.

However despite our efforts to be clean and green the obstacles of protecting our wildlife have become difficult with the introduction of unwanted pests. Possums and stoats are examples of these pests and responsible for wrecking New Zealands native wildlife. Possums feed on the plants like the native silver fern, possums are tending to eat more fern that can be reproduced fast enough which leads to extinction. Stoats eat the eggs of our natives birds like the Kiwi which means a lack of eggs are being laid to keep the species alive. The introduction of these pests has only had a negative effect on New Zealand's clean and green image, as we are losing our greenery and wildlife to pests. Conservationists have protection programmes to prevent extinction and loss of our clean and green image. They collect the Kiwi eggs and incubate them and set traps for possums and stoats. Even though this has a negative effect on our image work is being done to stop this problem so we can uphold the clean and green image.

In conclusion I firmly believe New Zealand is clean and green as we have a functioning recycling system which reduces our pollution which keeps us green, our low pollution levels due to our small population which keep New Zealand looking pristine, and the undisturbed undeveloped land which keeps our air clean. However the introduction on pests such as possums has destroyed some native trees and wildlife but conservationists have the situation under control, so New Zealand can successfully still hold the title of being clean and green.


By LilyRose Dyer.