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Adopt a Spot

What is Adopt a Spot Rotorua?

Supported by the Rotorua Sustainable Charter and Rotorua Lakes Council

The aim of Adopt a Spot Rotorua is to connect, support and celebrate litter free environments throughout the Rotorua District.

We are lucky to have many amazing people working hard to keep our place beautiful. Adopt a Spot Rotorua provides just one opportunity to recognise and celebrate our regular volunteers and connect up others who want to help.

Map of adopted spots

Check out spots that have been adopted so far in the Rotorua District. Click on the coloured lines and areas to find out who is involved.

How does it work?

If your workplace, family, community or other social group want to Adopt a Spot to monitor for litter, first check the map above. Your spot could be a local street, park, playground, sports field or other public place.

If the spot is not yet adopted, fill in this form and let us know you want it. You will then become the contact person and ‘spot coordinator’ for that spot.

What if the spot I want is already covered?

It’s also fine to overlap on an area! Adopt a Spot is not exclusive, and there is no expectation that adopting a spot will make you solely responsible for litter in that area. Collective action is important and appreciated for effective litter prevention.

We’ll supply spot coordinators with a clean-up pack – you just pick up litter from your adopted spot whenever it suits you.

Staying safe

Be mindful at all times that litter collection can be hazardous and that safety of yourself and your team is paramount. Information on health and safety in litter collection is in the guide below.

Community Litter Clean-up Organiser Guide - (PDF, 1MB)

Rotorua Lakes Council will actively discourage clean-up activity and withdraw support where safety planning is not able to mitigate risk to an acceptable level.

What to do with litter

Large amounts - report it

If you find extensive or risky litter, or occurrences of illegal dumping (large quantities of rubbish dumped within your spot), please report this through to Council for removal – phone (07) 348 4199 or email info@rotorualc.nz.

You can also report illegal dumping through the free Antenno app. Simply download the app, select 'Report an issue', add a photo and location of the dumped material, and submit your report. It will be sent directly to Council's Customer Services team for assessment and action.

Smaller amounts - take it home

Smaller quantities of collected litter can be placed into correct kerbside bins at home. If you have collected more than your bins at home can hold, contact us for assistance. Remember that all recyclables must be clean before being placed in the recycling bin. Any containers or bottles that cannot be cleaned of dirt or residue should go into the red-lid landfill bin.

What goes into each bin

Let us know about collections

Lastly, let us know about your collections. Reporting back helps us to better understand the litter situation in our district. Information that is useful to us includes:

  • Your collection area
  • How much was collected
  • Most common items and/or any items of concern
  • How your collections were disposed.

Send clean-up reports or any questions on the programme to the Waste Minimisation Officer at Rotorua Lakes Council - recycling@rotorualc.nz.

Supported by the Rotorua Sustainable Charter

More information

There are no reporting requirements and no set schedule. Adopt a Spot is completely voluntary, so you can help as often as it works for you. We appreciate any contribution that helps keep our shared spaces free of litter, no matter how big or small!

Reporting your clean-up is optional, but the information helps us better understand litter issues across Rotorua. Details such as the number of bags collected, the weight of litter, the types of rubbish found, or any unusual items can provide valuable insights.

Your safety always comes first. If you find hazardous waste or large amounts of illegally dumped rubbish, please contact Council rather than trying to remove it yourself.

Council and its contractors regularly collect litter from public spaces, including around public bins. The CBD and nearby parks are also cleaned daily by Council teams. However, removing every piece of litter across Rotorua would require significant additional resources and costs. Community support helps make a real difference in keeping public spaces clean. We know litter is more likely to build up in places where rubbish is already present, so every item collected helps. Council is happy to support volunteers and can provide assistance whenever needed.

Many people join Adopt a Spot because they care about their community and enjoy helping create cleaner, more attractive places for everyone to enjoy.

Council and its partners will stay in touch with participants and look for opportunities to recognise and celebrate their contributions. We greatly value the positive difference volunteers make in helping keep Rotorua beautiful!

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