That is the message from Dunedin city councillor Fliss Butcher, who is urging the city's leaders to support a Leaders' Litter Pledge and commit themselves to picking up litter when they encounter it.
Cr Butcher has so far signed up 39 city leaders to the scheme, which was prompted by concerns about the extent of city litter raised by University of Otago vice-chancellor Prof Sir David Skegg at this year's Dunedin City Forum.
Cr Butcher said she felt people had moved away from the "tidy Kiwis" ethos, and believed a return would help add some polish to the city's streets.
"We all used to be 'tidy Kiwis' who picked up rubbish when we saw it. It seems people nowadays feel less personal responsibility for the state of our environs and turn a blind eye to litter in the streets, believing it to be someone else's problem.
"It's really simple - if you see it and you can pick it up, put it into the bin," she said.
Among those to sign the pledge so far were Mayor Peter Chin, councillors and council staff, Prof Skegg, Otago Polytechnic chief executive Phil Ker, Tourism Dunedin chief executive Hamish Saxton and Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie.
The Otago Daily Times' editor, Murray Kirkness, has also signed up.
Dunedin City Council roading maintenance engineer Peter Standring welcomed the initiative, saying Cr Butcher should be "congratulated".
"A lot of it is about changing behaviours. If it gets people picking up rubbish, rather than dropping it, it will be fantastic," he said.
The council spent $1.1 million each year on maintenance contracts - including street cleaning - across the city, with Fulton Hogan on a performance-based contract and Delta Utility Services a subcontractor, he said.
The Octagon, George St and other parts of the central business district were expected to be cleaned daily, and other parts of the city three times each week, while far-flung rural areas of the city could wait six to eight weeks, he said.
• Details of the initiative, including those to sign up, can be found at www.dunedin.govt.nz/leaders-litter
