24 October 2019
Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) have announced the winners of this year’s Beautiful Awards at a gala dinner held at
the Toitu Otago Settlers Museum in Dunedin this evening.
Whanganui was crowned the Most Beautiful City as well as winning the award for Best Street. The winners for Most Beautiful Large and Small Town awards went to Cambridge and Waihi, respectively. The Most Beautiful Towns and Cities finalists were judged by KNZB’s
CEO, Heather Saunderson, and celebrity chef Michael Van de Elzen.
Michael loved the fact that everyone in Whanganui was getting involved in making the city better, from the local council
to the surrounding iwi. “The recycling centre was just incredible and really set Whanganui apart – I wish every town and
city could have one,” says Michael.
The Beautiful Awards is an annual competition that recognises the environmental excellence of individuals, groups,
businesses and schools.
Eleven other awards were presented at the ceremony to individuals, businesses, communities and places to celebrate their
environmental excellence across New Zealand. Lower Hutt City, a finalist and strong competitor against Whanganui for Most Beautiful City, was given the Outstanding Service Award for their continuous and well-rounded efforts to become environmentally sustainable.
KNZB’s CEO Heather Saunderson says, “The selected finalists have each demonstrated bold leadership in implementing
innovative sustainable projects that help reduce their environmental footprint and build resilient towns and cities.
These towns and cities are truly leading the way in tackling a variety of environmental issues, and we believe that
their call to action will inspire others to create change.”
Beautiful Awards 2019
Full List of Winners
Beautiful Towns and Cities
These awards recognise and celebrate beautiful towns and cities across New Zealand whose councils are making strides
towards enhancing their local environments. These prestigious awards review initiatives such as litter prevention/waste
minimisation, community beautification projects and sustainable tourism attractions. The winners of each award
demonstrated a strong community spirit and have created an environment that other towns and cities would aspire to have!
Most Beautiful Small Town
Finalists: Waihi, Hanmer Springs
Winner: Waihi
A finalist in last year’s award for Most Beautiful Small Town, Waihi takes the win this year because of their measurable
strides towards sustainability, waste management and beautification. In the past year, they have more than doubled the
number of volunteers who attend community clean ups. In March 2019, the local council funded a Waihi initiative to end
period poverty by funding the cost of 600 menstrual cups. Finally, this past year, Waihi started the Town Portraits
Project, which aims to bring inspirational people from Waihi’s past to life through a series of portraits scattered
around the town on currently blank walls.
Most Beautiful Large Town
Finalists: Cambridge, Pukekohe
Winner: Cambridge
With over 10 trees per resident, Cambridge is known as the Town of Trees. In addition to their Tree Trust, the district
council and volunteer groups have made a combined effort to preserve historical buildings, beautify the town with murals
and light fixtures, and implement programs to help reduce people’s need for single-use products such as bags and
nappies.
Most Beautiful City
Finalists: Lower Hutt City, Whanganui
Winner: Whanganui
Whanganui is motivated to reduce waste and implement sustainability projects in their community, and local groups are
helping to make this happen. Through the city council starting an anti-dumping campaign, many beautification events,
improved recycling projects and sustainable tourism initiatives, it is clear that the Whanganui community has banded
together over the past year and gone above and beyond to help their city.
Outstanding Service Award
Winner: Lower Hutt City
In many ways, Lower Hutt City has been dedicated to keeping their community beautiful. The people of Lower Hutt City
have maintained an annual clean up week over the past 30 years and are still making changes and creating new groups to
help reduce waste. They represent what it means to facilitate ongoing, committed service, and this is the very reason
why they were chosen to receive this award.
Community Awards
Klean Kanteen Community Environmental Initiative Award
This award honours innovative projects that have achieved extraordinary environmental results by harnessing the power of
partnership.
Finalists: Sea Walls Tairawhiti, RefillNZ, Palmy’s Plastic Pollution Challenge
Winner: RefillNZ
RefillNZ has taken a collaborative, community-centred approach to the plastic bottle problem. They are doing this by
working with cafes, health organisations and councils to provide water bottle refill stations in businesses across New
Zealand. By making tap water the drink of choice, they are also helping people reduce their need to purchase single use
plastic water bottles.
Community Group Award
This award recognises and honours a not-for-profit community group that contributes to enhancing the environmental and
social aspects of their region and shows a strong sense of community spirit.
Finalists: World Mission Society Church of God, For Our Real Clean Environment (FORCE), Friends of the Waiwhetu
Winner: FORCE
For Our Clean Environment, also known as FORCE, organises a monthly clean up group and with over 30 volunteers they have
already cleared over 10,000kgs of rubbish from the Whangarei district. In addition to the clean ups, FORCE has also
partnered with other environmental organisations like Matariki Tu Rākau, who bring communities together to create living
memorials and plant trees as part of the One Billion Tree Programme.
Sustainable Schools Award, proudly sponsored by New Zealand Couriers
The Sustainable Schools Award honours an ECE, school or tertiary institution for commitment and practical action to
implement sustainable practices and environmental projects, which enhance the school and/or community. Winners of the
Sustainable Schools Award receive $500 to go towards environmental initiatives within their school.
Finalists: Francis Douglas Memorial College (New Plymouth), Rangiruru Girls School (Christchurch) Salisbury School (Richmond)
Winner: Francis Douglas Memorial College
Two groups of boys from Francis Douglas Memorial College involved in a future and community problem solving course
decided to tackle the issues of unhealthy eating due to poverty and bettering recycling efforts in their school. To get
funding for the edible forest for project #1, the boys sold $40 pledges to people in their community, which earned
buyers a fruit tree planted in their name with a plaque made of recycled materials in front. To better their recycling
system, they created miniature greenhouses from the plastic bottles that fit over garden beds to donate to people in
their community.
Business Awards
Most Sustainable Business Award
The award for most sustainable business goes to a business that not only has environmental initiatives currently in
place, but also has a three to five year vision plan.
Finalists: The Rubbish Whisperer, CaliWoods, Eastern Drycleaners
Winner: The Rubbish Whisperer
The Rubbish Whisperer has been busy this year doing outstanding work to reduce New Zealand’s single-use plastics. They
have replaced over 1.2 million plastic straws with paper this year. Their sales of reusable produce bags this past year
will save over 9 million plastic bags, and this year they tapped into a new market: reusable water balloons and reusable
sandwich wraps. In their community, they have partnered up with Remix Plastic to educate and empower students to live
more sustainably. Internally, they have sourced second hand office supplies from Creative Junk, sourced pens made of
recycled paper and plastic, reused shipping boxes, and all fabric waste produced from manufacturing is either donated to
Early Childhood Education Centres, reused, or recycled properly.
Most Sustainable Business Project
This award honours New Zealand businesses who have achieved extraordinary results through an environmental or
sustainability project in the past 12 months.
Finalists: Vendella, Remix Plastic Project by Clever Green Ltd
Winner: Vendella
Vendella is doing a lot of great work in the New Zealand accommodation sector to become more sustainable and reduce
environmental impact. Their Dreamticket bedding products are filled with an ultra-fine, hypo-allergenic, luxury
microfibre which is made from recycled plastic bottles. Over the past year, this micro-fibre fill, that is included in
thirty of their products, has saved 2,151,621 500ml plastic bottles from oceans and landfills.
Individual Awards
Tidy Kiwi Award
The Tidy Kiwi Award recognises and rewards an individual aged over 18 years (as of July 31 2019) who has distinguished
himself of herself as truly extraordinary and serves as an inspiration to us all. This award honours outstanding and
exceptional leadership in litter prevention, waste reduction, recycling and beautification activities.
Finalists: Nick Connop & Karen Lee, Kenny McCracken, Alan Pope
Winner: Alan Pope
A law enforcement officer in Lower Hutt City, Alan has succeeded in achieving 1200 infringements regarding the Litter
Act Law. According to his peers, Alan has been a staunch supporter of Keep Lower Hutt Beautiful through attending annual
Clean-Up week events and helping to address the problems regarding proper cardboard collection.
Young Legend Award
The Young Legend Award honours an outstanding volunteer who is aged under 18 (as of July 31 2019). This exceptional
young man or woman will have demonstrated remarkable leadership and outreach in his or her community through work in one
or more of the following areas; litter prevention, waste reduction, recycling promotion, community beautification.
Finalists: Sarah Nicholls, E Wen Wong, Rosetta Brown
Winner: Sarah Nicholls
Sarah was the Volunteer of the Month in May. At just seven years old, she has been active in her community of Mangere
Bridge in Auckland by organising a street clean up. On the day of the street clean up, she partnered with Friends of the
Farm and local businesses who sponsored a sausage sizzle and a fruit basket raffle. Together, Sarah’s community gathered
four big bins of rubbish and recycling, which was sorted with the help of a rubbish expert.
Local Hero Award
The Local Hero Award acknowledges extraordinary contributions made by New Zealanders in their local community for high
standards in social and environmental practices. The recipient is selected by the hosting branch committee, as such,
there is no entry process for this particular award.
Winner: Laura Cope
Places Awards
Best Loo Award, proudly sponsored by Plumbing World
This award recognises the best public toilet in the country. Judges take into consideration the location, facilities,
cleanliness, interior, exterior and the surrounding environment of the toilets.
Finalists: Colac Bay Toilet (Invercargill), Port Ohope Wharf Permaloo (Eastern Bay of Plenty), Spa Park (Taupo)
Winner: Colac Bay Toilet
Developed from a recycled shipping container, the public toilet at Colac Bay was given a “Southland Vibe” with
mixed-media imagery on the exterior with the help of local photographers, hand drawn sketches and text. This was the
first of four revamped toilets to be constructed by the Southland District Council.
Best Street Award, proudly sponsored by Resene
This award recognises and celebrates a street in New Zealand that clearly stands out for its beauty, cleanliness,
plantings and sense of community pride.
Finalists: Greytown Main Street (Wairarapa), Ridgway Street (Whanganui), Seymour Avenue (Nelson)
Winner: Ridgway Street, Whanganui
Ridgway Street is full of heritage buildings, offering a full representation of architectural styles between 1860 and
1960. There is a park in the centre of a street where a fire took down an old building, but the local council has
beautified it with a three-storey mural on the building that overlooks the park. Their environmental, planting and
beautification initiatives include a drinking fountain, and turning the park into a communal pop-up space. They created
a live music stage out of wooden pallets and a shade sail, a community garden with the help of Common Ground Coffee, and
flower beds. In March 2019, Whanganui held its first Whanganui Walls Festival. Using Resene paint, artists employed more
environmentally friendly practices by using spray guns to minimise impact to create eight beautiful murals on heritage
building walls.
Kiwi’s Choice Award, proudly sponsored by Resene
Anyone in New Zealand can nominate his or her favourite public spot to win the Kiwi’s Choice Award. It could be a beach,
a park or a lookout a waterfall, a lake or a walking track. The award is presented to the local council who governs the
winning location.
Finalists: Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park, Otumuheke Hot Stream
Winner: Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park
The community of Ohakune wanted to transform this once railway siding and large wasteland into and activity area. The
park is complete with electric BBQs, sheltered park benches and log seating, walkways with native plants, a playground
with a bike track, and cartoon vegetables fashioned out of high-density polystyrene and fiberglass.
Blue Flag Supreme Best Practice Award
Finalists: Outboard Boating Club Auckland, Westhaven Marina, The Landing, Orakei Marina
Winner: Outboarding Boating Club Auckland
ENDS