Nine weeks on and a West Coast river is still full of toxic trash after a landfill was washed away by floods.

Tonnes of recycling and rubbish was washed up on previously pristine Westland district beaches after an old Fox Glacier landfill breached following a major storm.

Volunteers have been working hard to clean it up, but now that Westland District Council has called off the cleanup due to lack of funds. 

It has led to calls for the Government to step in instead. However, Forest and Bird West Coast regional manager Nicky Snoyink says it doesn't matter who pays for it, it just needs to be fixed quickly.

"They've cleaned up where the tourists goes, and if you go down to the beaches, that's where the fantastic volunteers have been, but if you actually go into the river itself, it's pretty horrible. There's a big tangled mess down the river, with plastic and garbage all tied up in the trees."

Snoyink says that local government has a moral and legal obligation to help, and she can understand why the Government does not to get involved as it would set a standard.

However, she told Heather du Plessis-Allan that, given the central government's stance on plastic bags, it would be good if they helped here. 

"They do have a bit of a double standard here, and they do need to get in and help this."