FROM THE NEWS DESK

This week politics and waste minimisation come together in a number of articles in the Chronicle. You would have read the front page story by Rexine Hawes, focusing on Transition Matamata’s support for the Kiwi Bottle Drive’s campaign to lobby neighbouring Coromandel MP Scott Simpson for more action on reducing waste, in particular, plastic bottles. Simpson is associate minister for the environment, which is why the campaign is lobbying him. More than 100 plastic bottles have been sent to his Wellington office with a message asking for action. There is a call for a return to a bottle exchange system which used to run in New Zealand about 30-to-40 years ago. It encouraged people to recycle their bottles in exchange for a small monetary return. It was widely used as a fundraiser for groups such as Scouts and Girl Guides in the community I grew up in and potentially could help many of today’s community and school groups. Maybe the coming election is a good time to raise this initiative?

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