Good Sorts: Mt Maunganui's tidiest Kiwi cleans up the town

October 23, 2023

Su Hodkinson has spent decades criss-crossing the streets of her community in search of rubbish. (Source: 1News)

Rubbish stuck in gutters and being stuck at home – those are two things that make Su Hodkinson grouchy.

She's combatted those problems for decades by getting out of the house – day and night, rain or shine – to pick up messes left across Mt Maunganui's streets.

"I’ve been picking up rubbish all my life," Su told 1News.

The former teacher turned social worker began picking up rubbish on her commute.

"People would say 'why are you doing that all dressed up?' and I'm going 'well, I'm on my way to work'."

She's become an expert at her craft – she knows when to pick up chewing gum before it hardens and can sense a dropped McDonald's straw from across the street.

"In the middle of the night, I go out and pick up the tyres and the things that shouldn’t be there," she said.

Whenever unstoppable forces like Covid-19 lockdowns and extreme weather reach Mt Maunganui, Su becomes an immovable object.

"I loved it during Cyclone Gabrielle," she said, "'cause it was warm and the rain just came straight down and there was no one around.

"It's very zen and I picked up rubbish."

The one thing Su likes more than picking up rubbish is recycling it.

"I think people think I’m the biggest alcoholic in town," she joked. "I don’t drink."

In her idle moments, there are days where Su despairs over the seemingly never-ending filth covering the Mount's streets.

"Sometimes, I just can’t do it and I have days off," she said.

But she's optimistic, however, saying we're getting better at picking up after ourselves.

"I really like living in a clean environment."

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