(UPBEAT THEME MUSIC) Tonight, fighting for the environment. Crazy, eh? It's actually a plastic beach. Locals have had enough of corporate litterbugs. I mean, We shouldn't have to pick up someone else's mess. We need these factories to be accountable. Plus, have the food police gone mad? You butter believe it. Her words were, 'I'm sorry, this is a health and safety issue. We cannot butter your scone.' A butter ban leads to a public meltdown. What kind of service is this? And the neighbours huffed and puffed over breach of privacy. I think that it was all ridiculous. I still think that. But these kids have been blown away by southern generosity. ALL: Yay the treehouse! Copyright Able 2018 Kia ora. Welcome to the show. If you dropped a bag of rubbish on the footpath, would you pick it up? Absolutely. All the time. I've got one for you. How about if you saw someone dumping a bin of plastic on the beach ` would you expect them to pick it up? You absolutely would. We agree on something, finally. Yes, well, this story could strike a nerve. Wellington is reportedly our toughest city on litterbugs. But some locals reckon it has to get tougher on corporate offenders. Here's Gill. (UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC) Wellington Harbour ` its beaches and bays attract plenty of visitors, including a few special ones from out at sea. The southern right whale in the Wellington Harbour. In summertime, we get pods of dolphins. We've had beautiful big stingrays. So we're really spoilt by what have here. On land, its also the perfect place for some good old-fashioned fun. Toby and I, we're very good at making creations out of sand, like turtles. And we can literally spend all day playing at the beach, yeah. I'm gonna let you do its feet and its arms. So seeing a threat to the coastline, Lorraine is taking a stand. It's against the invasion of tiny bits of plastic known as 'nurdles'. No one knows what a nurdle is, but they're just as destructive to our environment, they're just as bad as a plastic bag. Nurdles are the building blocks of our plastic lives, melted to make every cup and container. They're imported in their billions. Even tiny spills can create a big mess. And Lorraine's seen that on Wellington's beaches. You know, enough is enough. We need these factories to be held accountable. Washing up on beaches everywhere, they're not just an eyesore ` they get eaten by fish, seabirds, whales even. You're literally just scooping them up with your hands the whole time. So with Fair Go's help, Lorraine, a worker at the local Pak 'n' Save, takes on the big guys in plastics. If your staff came here and saw the mess, they would be embarrassed. They would be mortified if saw what our volunteers are dealing with. Along with conservation group Sea Shepherd, Lorraine helps clean up Evans Bay beach every month. About three weeks ago we here, eh? And we cleared all this area. And it's just back to stage one. It's actually a plastic beach. In a normal beach clean-up, how much would you collect? Um, so, we would collect about 20 bags. We've slowly seen it getting worse, not better, even though we're cleaning them up. They think they have evidence of nurdles from several companies. You can tell, cos they've all got different colours. We can tell by looking at this. We've watched them with a forklift basically take a whole pallet load from one side of the road to the to other, with a drain to the sea either side, and it's just spilling out the whole way. They can't not spill it ` I know it's hard. But they need to clean it up straight away. So with all the ones that escape and end up on the beach,... I mean, it should be the companies coming down here and picking this all up. I mean, we shouldn't have to pick up someone else's mess. Lorraine went to see which companies might be responsible. So on the Sunday morning, I said, 'Toby, right, we're gonna go 'have a look around these plastic factories.' We stopped at IML, and the nurdles were right in front of us. They were all around the fence line of the building. They were down the driveway. So we took photos and I put them on my Facebook page And the news jumped on board with a story. A Wellington manufacturing company admits spilling plastic beads down storm-water drains. Riding a wave, Lorraine met with the council, thinking surely they'd take action. We showed them the problem, and they were absolutely mortified. They also said to us, it's a very hard problem for them to fix. When you came away from that meeting with the council, what were you thinking? It wasn't good enough. Not at all. It raised a bit of public awareness. We got a pat on back for doing it. But I went back a couple of weeks afterwards and just drove past IML, and again we saw another spill outside that was there for over an hour. So I do have concerns that things haven't changed. So we arranged for them to meet IML's commercial manager, who, surprisingly, is seeing the problem for the first time. It's certainly worse than what I thought it would be. It's just crazy. They're everywhere. They are very difficult to control, um, because they're round. It's taking Lorraine a lot of courage to tackle this head-on. As much as it scares me, I've got to do it to save our wildlife and make a change. Back in 2014, there were thousands of nurdles here. And we're 2018, and the problem is just getting worse. We don't want them going on the beach any more than you guys do. Because they're actually valuable to us. They're a significant part of our cost structure, and we want to use them. I'm pretty confident that we're doing our part. They are part of Operation Clean Sweep, an industry group which addresses this problem. And after the recent media attention, IML did install two drain traps. Lorraine wants another in a third drain nearby. Also, she wants staff be better trained in cleaning up. Our standard operating procedures around the control of spillages and the clean-up of them are probably 99.99% effective. If you say you've got such good standards, why did I get such bad photos of all those nurdles outside your building? We are a working site. So if you went into our kitchen at home when we're cooking dinner, it's not gonna be spotless where we're cooking dinner. And that's the same with a working site. I saw a spill at your premises that sat there for 18 hours. What I'd say is that would be exceptional and certainly not in line with our policies and procedures. We've obviously refreshed the training, and we're committed to doing this. As you can see, Lorraine is almost lost for words. She is convinced training could be improved and suggests it would help if staff could see the problem at the next beach clean-up. We're happy to look at it as part of a Wellington branch of the Plastics Association, and I've raised that at the last meeting that we've had, as to what we can do to help. But isn't it as easy as just you guys coming along and putting on a pair of gloves and just helping us clean it up like all the volunteers do? People give up their time. They don't have to give up their time to come here, but they do because they care. I'll take that back to my team and I'll let them make individual decisions about that. What did you think of that response? Yeah, it was disappointing ` very disappointing, yeah. I want a real proactive response here, yeah. We emailed the other three main plastic moulding companies in the area where Lorraine had found some escaping nurdles. Like IML, they all said they had strict clean-up procedures and were keen to establish the true source. This photo shows nurdles run deep, so the problem could be years old. Uniplas offered to review their practices, but no mention of joining beach clean-ups. Flight Plastics say beach clean-ups and prioritising spill prevention is 'business as usual'. They're focused on removing plastic from the environment and say the nurdles on the beach don't match what they use now. After touring their site, Lorraine was impressed. Synapco also do beach-clean ups and want to develop a filter device to make clean-ups easier. They agree all companies 'man up and help' and are keen for Lorraine to give a talk to their workers. She'll probably say something like this. We have beautiful beaches. We have beautiful marine life. Your businesses are putting this all at risk of us losing this. We just want you to stand up and take control, here. Nurdles? Are you serious? First it was microbeads, now it's nurdles. Nasty little things. Next time you're on the beach, often by storm-water outlets and things like that, have a look. It's hard to see them at first, but once you see them, you see so many of them, and it is a bit heart-breaking. IML say while they have no plans to help at Lorraine's beach clean-ups, they are working on a number of ways to directly assist with cleaner beaches in Wellington. I think Lorraine will be keeping a close eye on them. Coming up after the break, some healthy advice proves hard to swallow. I was gobsmacked. Healthy living is good, but has Christchurch Hospital taken it too far? What kind of service is this? Plus, treehouse wars. It has lots of space to dodge bullets. The battle has been fought and won. ALL: Yay, the treehouse! Welcome back. We all want to make the world a safer place. But the food police at Christchurch Hospital have taken it to the next level. Grab your best tinfoil caps and get ready for a trip to crazy town. We're not sure if it's PC gone mad, public health at its finest, or something entirely different. Here's Garth. (TCHAIKOVSKY'S 'DANCE OF THE SUGARPLUM FAIRY') Judy loves gnomes. It's my stupid hobby. I'm commonly known as a gnomologist. Yep, gnomes everywhere. All outside, up the fences over there, in the windows ` both windows ` and I have a little few inside. A few? 200. This isn't why Judy called Fair Go. We weren't expecting this. There's always a place for a gnome. Right. Always. Your place, by the look of it. (LAUGHS) People come to visit all the time, to see the gnomes and sample her scones. Judy likes scones too. Are you prepared to butter that scone? Yes. It's all about customer service. Where has the customer service gone? And that was the problem for Judy when she dropped in at a local cafe. I said, 'Look, would you mind buttering it for me, please? I'm going to be eating on the run.' And her words were, 'I'm sorry, this is a health and safety issue. We cannot butter your scone.' And I was gobsmacked. My mouth must've dropped. And I was so stunned... at being turned down to have my scone buttered. What kind of service is this? This feels like a classic Fair Go question. How is buttering a scone a health and safety issue? We're at hospital to find out. But we're not here to see the doctor. We're going to the cafe. This was where Judy had come that fateful day for a kai on the go ` Christchurch Hospital cafe. She'd been visiting someone and had still plenty left to do. Health and safety gone mad. And she already had something else on her mind. It was the ultimate battle. It's got to go. The Dunedin City Council has decided to remove a family-built treehouse. I'd been following that tree issue for quite some time. And then when this happened with my scone, I was so shocked and I was peed off about it. But later ` I think it was the next day ` I started to see the funny side and I thought, 'Well, Fair Go, what do ya reckon?' We needed to check it out for ourselves. And it was well past lunchtime. Frankly, I was hiakai - that's 'hungry' in te Reo ` very hungry, and curious too. This is lunch. It's also proof that Judy is not alone. Because here is my muffin ` they were all out of date scones ` plastic knife and butter pat. No, they wouldn't butter my food either. Hospital policy ` health and safety. They did offer to warm it up, though. I didn't want to make a fuss then and there, and neither had Judy. I didn't wanna cause a scene, and I knew I was holding up people if I did. And I thought, 'Just get over it, Judy. Get out the door.' So was this hygiene or a fatwa on saturated fat? We needed to know if butter was a public health emergency before we bothered the health board. So we put it to the guy who wrote the book on it ` Professor Grant Schofield. You're buttering your scone. Actually, the scone's the part of it I'm concerned about. It's generally high in sugar, so it's a dressed-up cake. It's a dressed-up fruitcake. So you add jam, you can add margarine, but not butter. Like, we're picking on the wrong baddy here. Mind if I have another one? No, go for it. So we respectfully asked Canterbury DHB, please explain. Take your time ` we appreciate the hospital has more than scones on its plate. But we'd like to know. and safety but food safety, and a bit stale, too. The previous food providers at Christchurch Hospital had a policy whereby staff serving unwrapped food to the public should not touch it with their hands. However, staff can and do assist people who need a hand buttering their scones and muffins, and we're sorry this wasn't Judy's experience on the day. And to butter us up some more, on the odd occasion that stainless steel cutlery is not available, plastic is given. Good, because you might as well go murder a turtle with that. Exactly. The DHB has offered to shout Judy a fresh scone. You've gotta have a scone when it's not long made Buttered, naturally. Though, shockingly, I would later discover, at home... Judy uses margarine, not butter. The horror. The horror. Can I echo the thoughts of our viewers? Butter the scone. Just butter the scone! Butter the scone. Look, while we're on the topic of bureaucracy gone mad, let's talk treehouses. As you just saw, the Dunedin City Council's decision to order the demolition of the Oke family's treehouse caused quite a stir. Sure did. The council is still insistent that treehouses have to meet building codes. But southern folk are a generous bunch. Here's Anna. (SQUEALS) (EXCITING MUSIC) Three boisterous boys,... Run! ...one big backyard ` what could go wrong? Ow! Well, maybe a few things. But certainly no one thought it would be their epic treehouse causing all the trouble. I think that it was all ridiculous. I still think that. Janice is talking about the treehouse ` yup, that treehouse ` that hit the headlines in June after the local council threatened to give it the chop because it didn't meet building code. I think it's ridiculous. It's a children's play house. It's... Seriously, get a life. But things have changed in the last six weeks. It will be great for picking plums, with one great big, huge platform up there. (CHUCKLES) That'll be the new treehouse ` revived, rebuilt, and now meeting all the requirements for the Dunedin City Council and the boys. It's good. But I do miss the old one. I mean, but this one's really good, because it's got a lot more room and you can fit lots more people up here. Protects a lot for nerf wars. It has lots of space to dodge the bullets. It was a neighbour's complaint that sparked the council investigation. But it also sparked a war of words about what we should be allowed to do in our own backyards. The media attention was a little substantial ` more than I expected. Um, however, that media attention really helped solve the issue really quickly. The story went nationwide. But it was the local community that rallied around to rebuild a new, compliant treehouse for the kids. Fantastic shout-out to the Mosgiel Rotary Club. Without them, I would still be in the same issue, and I wouldn't have a compliant treehouse. And it's got the tick of approval. ALL: Yay, the treehouse! Yay for Rotary. Yay for the Oke family. Still feel a little... ...like the council could have shown some discretion in the first place. Discretion ` great word. Coming up after the break, are you hosed off with poor-quality hosiery? Oh, come on! All three packets tore when I was putting them on, in different places. We put some of New Zealand's more popular tights under pressure. Oh, yes, it's just starting to ladder. And it's time to call 'action' for this year's Kids' Ad Awards. We want you to sell us your slice of Kiwi paradise. Welcome back. Let's talk ladders ` or, more specifically, ladders in your tights. Yes, my specialist subject, currently. Ladders are like ninjas. It doesn't matter how cautious or careful you are, they're eventually gonna sneak up and attack when you least expect it. Does that happen to you? I don't think anyone's ever made that comparison. And yes, of course, it happens to everyone. Last week we told you about Lisa's horror story. She was ripping her way through four pairs a week. That is expensive. So this week, we've gone all CSI on you, and we're gonna try and end Lisa's run of bad luck. Oh, come on! Last week, Lisa Allen's hosiery horror story resonated with many of you. ...said Tessa. ...lamented Keren, who spent $28 on two pairs. All three packets tore when I was putting them on, in different places. So we've decided to investigate further. Here at Fair Go, we love our facts and figures and data ` we love data. So it only makes sense we should come here to Napier to the New Zealand Wool Testing Authority to look at pantyhose ` not try them on; we're gonna test them. The New Zealand Wool Testing Authority tests and certifies all sorts of products. That's looking better, I think. Lorraine Greer is one of the few remaining textile technologists in New Zealand. It's a 15-denier one. She's the sort of woman who looks at pantyhose under a microscope. And they'll vary the stitch with the object of actually making the pantyhose run-resistant. Now, that's something that the consumer won't be able to tell, looking at it. Today we're completing a shorter version of many tests they do. Christian, also a textile technologists, cuts a 350mm segment of pantyhose. He stretches it on a frame, then attaches it to a tensile tester. Now Christian is gonna make the hole. Then he punctures the pantyhose, and the tester extends the fabric at a constantly increasing load until... Oh, yes, it's just starting to ladder. When it ladders, the test is stopped and the load is measured in grams. Probably gonna get to 1 kilo, Christian. All pantyhose we'll test are 15 denier. Denier is a thickness measurement. The thicker the pantyhose, the more durable they're going to be. They cost $15.99 per pair. It hasn't started laddering yet. Each pantyhose will be tested several times. Yes, you can see it's got to about there so far. Now it's running. It's moving quickly now. That one got to 1.1 kilos. Overall, Voodoo averaged 1.18kg. Legalong is next, made in China. Cost ` $6. They're 100% nylon in the leg, and they started well. Almost 1 kilo; nothing's happened. Legalong lasted... I just saw one stitch going. ...and lasted, until finally... There we are. We've got the laddering happening now. 2.9 kilos ` quite high. On average, over several tests, Legalong lasted 2.8kg. That performed extremely well, because that reached a higher load before it actually laddered. So that's a good thing. Next up are Columbine Silky Legs. They're made just up the road, and they cost $8.99. Columbine are the only company where they actually produce things in New Zealand ` in Gisborne, I believe. Columbine stretched in the other direct to its competitors. Oh, it's going sideways. But we haven't got any ladders. Columbine didn't ladder at all. What's happening is, it's just simply going to break at the jaws. It's not laddering. So we cut a smaller test strip and tried again. It's starting to go now. That's the only way we could get it laddering, is to use that shorter sample. This time Columbine averaged 1.3kg, but that was with a shorter length of fabric. The Columbine one simply stretched and stretched. And that's not a bad thing. It means that the sample will simply give a lot more when you're putting it on and when you're wearing it. Columbine say this model pantyhose contains Lycra, which offers more comfort and a better fit. Our final test is Razzamatazz ` made in China and cost $9.50. They were here for a good time, not a long time. They withstood, on average, 0.7kg, for four place ` out of four. Razzamatazz, Voodoo and Legalong didn't want to comment on the results. But Columbine say they're extremely proud to manufacture hosiery in New Zealand and were claiming the top place in the non-nylon section. The results were really quite consistent, which is good. Something happened just then. Lorraine says whichever pantyhose you use, cleaning carefully is key. Always put them in a laundry bag. And if you're washing them with other things, don't wash them with your bras with the hooks open. However you stretch your pantyhose, Lorraine says look after them and they'll look after you. I'm a bit confused about what pantyhose to buy now. It's really muddied the waters for me. Yes, I'm just confused about where this conversation's going. What we do want to know is what you do with you old pantyhose, the laddered ones ` so send us your tips and we will share them. Before we go, we have to mention the Kids' Ad Awards, because it is time for you to get your thinking caps on and get creative. This year's theme is tourism, and we want you to sell us your slice of Kiwi paradise. Whether it's your local landmark or your secret hideaway,... we want your ad to sell us your local hot spot, the hidden gems, the loud and proud. Tell us why we would want to visit and what sets your special place apart. It could be iconic. It could be unknown. It could be hidden somewhere on your street, in your suburb, or just outside your city. Great competition. Can I enter? No, but we will find you something to keep you busy. We've got a lot more great tips and more information on our Facebook page, or head to TVNZ OnDemand and look up Fair Go. But that is the show for tonight, but remember we are always here to help. Our programme is all about you, so if you've got a wrong you want made right or you feel like you're not getting a fair go, please drop us a line. Yes, you can get us on Facebook, or you email us or write to us. Thank you for watching. I'm off up to my treehouse. I'm gonna butter my own scone and just have a great old time. Until next week,... BOTH: ...po marie. Copyright Able 2018