News release
2 February 2009

‘Do it in public’ at the NZI International Rugby Sevens

Most of us recycle at home, but this year spectators at the NZI International Sevens are being encouraged to ‘do it in public’, thanks to a Greater Wellington, Stadium Trust and Ministry for the Environment partnership to encourage recycling at stadium events.

Forty-two recycling bins displaying the Ministry’s Love NZ Recycle with Care logo (see attached picture) will be dotted around the Westpac Stadium and the 70,000 patrons expected to attend this weekend's event will be able to recycle virtually all drink containers purchased there. Ministry for the Environment staff will be at the bins to assist.

“We send more than 300 tonnes of waste to landfill each year – that’s the equivalent of 607 elephants!” says Linda Rieper, commercial manager of the stadium. “We expect to reduce our waste to landfill by 40% with this initiative and we also hope to save money on landfill charges.”

While the stadium has recycled glass, cardboard and green waste for some time, the recycling of plastic bottles by the half-million patrons that pass through the gates each year has been a challenge.

“We’ve found that a lot of recyclable packaging is still being put in our general waste bins. So we’re working with our partners to make it easier to do the right thing and recycle,” she says.

Greater Wellington is providing support for the scheme, which is being funded by the Stadium Trust and a grant from the Ministry for the Environment’s “Recycling in Public Places Initiative”.

“We need to find ways to reduce the amount of waste going into our landfills and the recycling in public places like the stadium is one way we can make an impact,” Greater Wellington Chair Fran Wilde said.

“By reducing waste going into landfill we save money on disposal costs, extend the life of existing landfills and reuse potentially valuable resources.”

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell:
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