A Mount Maunganui community-based environmental conservation group advocating to hold industry and institutions to account for air pollution from heavy industrial activity is hosting a fundraiser to support the work they do.

Clear the Air Mount Maunganui aims to improve air quality significantly in Mount Maunganui for all those who work, live and visit there by applying community-led pressure, and forming effective partnerships with industries, councils and government to transform the city.

Founder Emma Jones said the fundraiser – which is a movie screening of Moana 2 at United Cinemas Bayfair on Thursday, November 28 – will raise funds to cover the group’s recent legal expenses.

“We have to raise a bit of money to cover legal bills and recent appearances at court,” Jones said. “We had some funding, but that was just a one-off, and now that fund is mostly out of my business.”

Jones moved to Tauranga in 2016 and, after noticing the stench in the air, decided to do something about it. By 2019 she had set up Clean the Air Mount Maunganui as a charitable trust.

“The realisation [was] that you’re the only one who can change it, so you can either accept it or try to do something about it,” Jones said.

Founder Emma Jones and marketing consultant Marianne Falconer of Clean the Air Mount Maunganui are fighting to clean up the air around the city. Photo / Bob Tulloch

Clear the Air Mount Maunganui believes the air around the industrial area of Mount Maunganui contains harmful levels of volatile organic compounds, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen dioxide, benzene, methyl bromide, heavy metal fragments, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter (dust) PM10 and PM2.5.

“It’s a constant stench out there,” Jones said.

But the needle has started to shift, with industry around Tauranga taking heed and making slow but steady improvements, Jones said.

“They’ve [industry] come voluntarily to the table, but there’s big sticks behind it, and it has taken a lot to get them to the point where they’re all kind of getting on board.”

Jones works with a team of four and wants to be able to pass the torch to tamariki and rangatahi so the progress that has been accomplished so far doesn’t disappear.

“We want to pass on our kids and start to get to the other end. We want them to stick around, so other people don’t have to start from scratch, but you’ve got to keep the pressure on the next generation.”

Whareroa Marae has expressed concerns about the chemicals in the air, citing not only the adverse effects on health but also people’s mental wellbeing, Jones said.

“The air might not be killing you immediately, but the impact on mental health in the community is just as bad.

“You cannot sit outside and enjoy your house. It is bad and embarrassing,” Jones said.

Moana 2 will screen at United Cinemas Bayfair on Thursday, November 28, from 5.30pm-8pm. Tickets can be purchased at: events.humanitix.com/clear-the-air-fundraising-event-moana-2/tickets

“We want it [the fundraiser] to be a fun time and bring the community together,” Jones said.

“Sometimes [polluted air] is quite a heavy topic, and weighs on people’s psyche.”

- SunLive