A community-led clean up of the waterways around Nelson and Richmond has removed 600 abandoned tyres from the Waimea Estuary alone.
Two Richmond locals have made ridding the estuary of rubbish their personal crusade.
The project's prime mover, a Richmond man Malcolm Saunders, took his plans to remove rubbish from the Waimea Estuary to the Tasman District Council, which has now funded the cost of resource consent for the scheme.
He says despite some shocking discoveries of things like dumped concrete and bleach, the project isn't about apportioning blame, and volunteers have a clear no-blame, all-gain policy.
Mr Saunders says have already spent more than 2000 hours removing rubbish and planting hundreds of trees.
The council says it's a prime example of a community-led initiative which it is keen to support.
