Litter by Little: Alan Samson walks every day to collect litter, and says others could too

Wednesday, 19 September 2018

If you want to keep fit and clean up your city at the same time then follow Alan Samson's lead as he walks 7km every day to collect litter from Wellington streets.

As part of our Litter by Little project, Amber-Leigh Woolf talks to a man who is working hard to keep our capital tidy.

Alan Samson could be Wellington's first trash crusader, and he wants others to join him.

He's 69, but the recently retired journalist walks more than most people, trooping across about seven kilometres a day on a tenacious hunt for litter.

Samson was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014, and had surgery for it the next year. But a problem after the surgery meant he could barely walk.

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About 93 per cent of the litter left on the land will end up in the sea, so when retirement came, Alan Samson decided he could do something about.

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'I decided to combine my feelings about litter with my determination to get fit, and I walked more and more each day.'

So every day he rugs up warm, even if it's raining or hailing, and he hits the streets.

At first, Samson could only walk a few metres at a time. It took months but he eventually built up to about seven kilometres.

He said he would do it every day 'until I croak over'.

'It's so good for me, I am stronger and fitter and I am more alert … I was in a bad place for a while.'

His walk covers the Wellington Botanic Gardens, to the CBD, then on to the waterfront.

Almost three years since he started, he's only skipped the circuit four times since day one.

On 'bad litter days' the circuit can take up to three hours, he said.

'Some days it's been almost impossible to carry.'

To ease the load he carries with him a small plastic bag, which he empties at rubbish bins as he passes.

Around Plimmer Steps Samson finds a plethora of trash in the gardens.

His current plastic bag has been used for that purpose for several months already.

Cigarette trash was the biggest problem, then coffee cups and their lids, he said.

'You see a lot of coffee cups, which really blows my mind when you see something marked as 'eco coffee cup'.'

Samson hoped his actions would rub off on others.

He had a hope that he could inspire other retirees to do at least one walk a day to collect litter.

'It would serve a double purpose for them, they could collect litter and keep fit.'

'This is a wonderful way to adopt a circuit. It could be just around the Basin Reserve … or it could be your own street.'

Litter in New Zealand was a huge problem, he said.

'My biggest worry is that people see it as something for the Government or the council to deal with, rather than themselves.'

Plastic waste was a human-induced issue, he said.

'People reducing their personal waste is the best way to go.'

Because of hs routine people had started to notice him, especially around the waterfront in the mornings, he said.

This month Wellington City Council waterfront activities co-ordinator Fraser Ebbett called Samson in to the chambers and gave him a litter 'grabber' pickup tool.

Before, he was carrying just a bamboo cane to sweep the trash towards himself. Samson said the stick had really helped his back.

Ebbett said he didn't know of anyone else in the city doing a regular litter circuit like Samson.

But if others did the same thing, it would certainly make a difference in the city, he said.

'Many hands make light work … more people could be aware and involved, even if it's a five-minute walk or a 10-minute walk, even if it's just a short commute on the way to work.'

PICK, PIC AND BIN

Please join us in making our environment a cleaner, better place. Pick up some litter, email us a photo and caption, and join the Litterati Photo Gallery.

We'll update the gallery daily to recognise all the good sorts making a difference.

Captions should include your name, along with location and date of rubbish pick-up. And please add any other information you think relevant or interesting. Email us at wellington@stuff.co.nz