A Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC) contractor has expressed disappointment over the amount of rubbish left behind in the town gardens during the holiday period.

Lorena Palomena, has been busy cleaning up the government-owned gardens around the town area, alongside her colleagues, this week.

Palomena said she was disappointed over the amount of waste left behind during the holiday period, which affected the beauty of the newly planted gardens.

"We’ve been doing a lot of cleaning lately after the festive season to make sure that our gardens are clean and attractive for our everyday tourists," she said.

The gardens, planted last year as part of a beautification project, are intended to enhance the town's appeal.

However, Palomena stressed that continued littering could harm the plants and diminish the island's charm.

"If littering continues, it’s going to kill our plants and our island will not be beautiful anymore," she warned.

She encouraged both locals and tourists to dispose of their waste properly, urging them to make use of the bins available or take their rubbish home if they are unable to find one.

"Just some advice to everyone, including locals and tourists, to make use of our bins or just simply do not litter around the town area where our gardens are, even in Panama where we have another garden," Palomena added.