Over a tonne of bottles is collected from public place recycling bins

Hastings’ public place recycling bins have diverted more than a tonne of waste from the Omaranui landfill.

Seven “Love NZ” bins were installed four months ago at a number of locations in the CBD, along the coastal cyclepath and at the effluent disposal points for campervans, just ahead of the Rugby World Cup. Since then 1.5 tonnes of recyclable material has been collected from the bins and taken to recycling depots. That’s a whole lot of glass bottles and other material which would otherwise have ended up in the landfill.

How much is 1.5 tonnes of recyclable material? That much waste would :

· completely fill a Ford Transit van
· half fill a 42 seater bus
· be equivalent to approximately 7500 glass bottles

Hastings District Councillor Wayne Bradshaw says “New Zealanders are among the highest producers of waste in the world. A recent survey did however show that 75% of Hastings households use the weekly recycling collection, which is great. These public place recycling bins provide an easy option to recycle whilst out and about. Every bottle recycled helps to reduce the amount of waste sent to the Omarunui Landfill.”

Councillor Bradshaw says “The amount of recyclable material collected in the bins shows that people are prepared to recycle their waste, as long as the process is simple. Having ‘Love NZ’ recycling bins at strategic locations around the district means we can easily recycle our drink bottles and beverage cans when we are out and about.”

Wayne Bradshaw believes the time is right for the development of a Regional Waste Plan to cover how Hastings and Napier Councils can best manage the waste stream in Hawkes Bay into the future. It is proposed that the option of installing more public place recycling bins will be included in consultation on the plan.