b'testpotsdoing itkeeping it cleanThis good keen bloke has a long-held passion for keeping the country litter-free.You can call Barry Lucinsky whatever you likejust as long as it isnt get involved in KNZB in the rst placeI have the sort of personality a tree hugger! that if I set my mind to something, then Ill do it. I also felt that The 75-year-old from Te Horo, north of Wellington, may have been I offered strong leadership, and Id like to think that had something responsible for single-handedly breathing life back into the Keep Newto do with the strong, vibrant organisation that KNZB is today.Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) organisation, but call him a lentil-munching, Its been a long and winding road for the Foxton-born Barry, whosetree-hugging hippy at your peril. career has been more chequered than a dartboard. He left school at Myfocusismoreonlivingharmoniouslywithnatureandthe 15 to milk cows and, in his lifetime, has been a roading contractor, environment, laughs the self-confessed Kiwi bloke.fencer, tomato grower, school bus driver, concrete supplier, ower grower and breeder of 3000 ferrets.I come from a rural background and I think youd be hard pressed to nd someone from the country who doesnt care about the land.ButnomatterhowBarryearnedaliving,hispassionforthe environment has always been to the fore and in the 1970s he was KNZB is a not-for-prot organisation that operates as a charitable awardedanEnergyandConservationAwardforaninnovative trust to promote litter abatement, waste reduction, and town and roading basecoat he made from waste material.city beautication. It was established under the umbrella of the NewZealand Litter Act 1979. However, it wasnt until 2000 that Barry was Since retiring from KNZB, Barry has been doing anything but sitting invited to get involved. idly by. He currently heads up four companies, including a businessthat removes grafti for OnTrak, a billboard company, and his most Unfortunately,hisarrivalalsocoincidedwiththelastgaspoftherecent venture, environmentally friendly toilets.organisation. Membership had dropped and they were going to disbandit. But I thought the work they did was too important to let go. Barrys Silica Glass Crushers business, meanwhile, crushes bottles for use on roading surfaces, something hes been involved with for So Barry revived KNZB, initially funding it himself and working as thesome time. The day we meet, he had just returned from towing his sole employee. I was the CEO, GM, event manager, you name it, crusher down to Gore where he estimates he crushed around 600 he jokes. tonnes of glass.Not one to shy away from hard yakka, Barry helped to turn theIsitanycoincidencethatmostofhisbusinesseshaveastrong organisationsfortunesaround,includingincreasingitscorporate environmental focus? Im totally committed to the idea of keeping support base from one to around 35, and attracting record attendance this beautiful country of ours in a pristine state. Like many Kiwis, numbers at the annual Clean Up New Zealand Week. my ancestors came from somewhere else [Czechoslovakia] and thisThe rst year we had about 400,000 people and at the last week,country has been good to me and my children and their children. around 1.3 million people got involved, which is fantastic. I think its Dont we owe it to be good back to the country?a sign that more and more people are taking pride in where they live. So does he have any advice on how to keep New Zealand beautiful?After all, who wants to live in a pig sty?I try not to get too fanatical with people, because otherwise theyBut when he turned 75, the father of three chucked it in, saying it thinkyoureanutterandtheywontlistentoyou!Idsuggestwas time to hand over the reins to new blood. leading by example, so not chucking stuff out of the car window and Ask him what his legacy is, and Barry will point to a combination of generally having some respect and pride for where you live. Thats aleadership and tenacity. Its probably the reason they asked me to pretty powerful force to be reckoned with38'