Some 7800 volunteers have been involved in the Rena oil spill clean-up so far.
Maritime New Zealand says the work equates to more than 13,000 hours of their time.
Salvage unit manager Andrew Berry says it is a huge contribution, and the volunteers are becoming very efficient, with much more oil being collected than waste in recent days.
The container ship ran aground on the Astrolabe reef off the coast of Tauranga on 5 October.
Mr Berry says clean-up operations will continue at Papamoa and Maketu this weekend.
