Bottle drive is a ‘win-win’
More than a thousand empty bottles and cans were collected from a weekend bottle drive in New Lynn.
Despite poor weather, 61 people turned up to the Ecoma tters Environment Trust event at Olympic Park on July 22, where 1457 plastic bottles and cans were collected.
Ten cents was given out for every clean bottle and can.
Glendene residents Sonny Ngatikaura, his son Kamarlin and nephew Manaia brought 150 bottles and cans altogether.
They walked away $15 richer.
‘‘We don’t want to see any waterways affected by rubbish that people decide to just throw in there instead of the recycling bins,’’ Ngatikaura said.
Ecomatters waste programme and development manager Sarah Murray said it was ‘‘wicked’’ to see heaps of people turn up.
‘‘But for me, the best thing about the whole day was the fact that people had picked up the containers out of the street and bush for recycling,’’ Murray said.
‘‘So not only did we achieve what we set out to do but we also cleaned up the local environment at the same time, win-win.’’
She said they were trying to encourage a container deposit scheme, which research showed would double the country’s beverage recycling rates and cut down on litter.
‘‘But for me, the best thing about the whole day was the fact that people had picked up the containers out of the street and bush for recycling’’
Sarah Murray