ZWA Sue Coutts has been travelling through Tarāwhiti and Bay of Plenty, talking with people from Wairoa, Gisborne, Wharekahika, Ōpōtiki and Whakatāne. What she’s heard from the councils and the community is that they currently have a situation on the Coast where the recycling volumes are low, litter is high and the cost to get materials back sits with councils and ratepayers. 

There was a lot of interest in how Container Return Schemes could change all that. With a 20c deposit, litter rates would be cut in half. A scheme will cover the real cost of recycling collections and transport. And communities could use CRS for any kind of fundraising effort from schools to churches to sports clubs and so on.

That’s why we’re super excited to be working with Te Aroha Kanarahi Trust and Paratoa – for a bottle drive at community whānau event Dec 5 evening – $1k in deposits to pay out to people who bring in empties 20c per empty

Sue said that pretty much all the way through the North Island from Wellington round the cape and up to Auckland there was a steady stream of litter along the roadsides. Pretty much all the time driving she could see at least one empty bottle, can or carton along the roadside. 

“Every time I got out of the car there was beverage litter –  it was quite shocking,” Sue said sadly. 

Massive thanks to Jo McKay at the Tairāwhiti Environment Centre for all her work connecting people, ideas and possibilities together. Ngā mihi maioha ki a koe!

We can fix this Aotearoa! With a container deposit return scheme in place we can deal with our 2+ billion containers per year and reap massive economic, environmental and social benefits. Let’s do it! Let’s #BringItBackNZ

Image: Bottle drive poster in Te Reo Māori, Sue with Ani Pahuru-Huriwai of Te Aroha Kanarahi Trust and Paratoa team at the recycling shed, Wairoa District Council’s Benita Cairns & Roz Thomas + roadside and beach litter.