World Cup recycle bins will collect fans' empties

Visitors are expected to be used to recycling. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

The prospect of beer bottles lining New North Rd during the Rugby World Cup has prompted the installation of recycling bins on Auckland's main routes and in fan zones.

Waste lobbyists said Aucklanders were recycling well at home, but the city was years behind Western European trends in providing for glass, plastic and aluminium disposal on the street.

Thousands of fans are expected to walk from downtown, Mt Eden, Kingsland and Morningside to Eden Park, so authorities are moving quickly to ensure collection bins are set up by September.

Glass Packaging Forum general manager John Webber said studies showed people would barely walk 10m out of their way to recycle.

"So we need plenty of facilities on the street, with 85,000 people arriving for rugby matches.

"Not everyone will respect the bins, but the [World Cup] is a good opportunity to get the message out there - to recycle in public as you would in your home."

The Glass Packaging Forum has started a "Love NZ" campaign, which is setting up hundreds of colour-coded bins.

All recyclables thrown into streetside rubbish bins now goes to rubbish dumps.

This means up to 34 per cent of Auckland's glass ends up in the earth, instead of being melted for re-use.

The installation of collection bins in public means at least a quarter of bottles and cans opened outside the home are being recycled.

At specific sites, such as concerts or fan zones, 75 to 80 per cent of bottles and cans are collected for re-use.

Permanent bins are being installed at Queen St, Auckland Airport and around Eden Park, and temporary bins will be used in surrounding suburbs.

The scheme, under which 1600 bins will be installed in other participating cities, is costing $2.2 million.

The forum has put $505,000 into the scheme, with the remainder coming from the Government's waste minimisation fund.

The forum's spokeswoman Lyn Mayes said most tourists knew about disposing of glass and plastic in public - so New Zealanders would be the target of the advertising campaign.

The bins will be managed by the forum until the World Cup is finished, and at that point the council will decide whether to continue the scheme with permanent bins.

Mr Webber said he hoped the scheme would have a legacy, and recycling bins wouyd be installed "for life" once the World Rugby Cup was over.