Centre follows the paper trail to a green reward

Children at the Rotorua Child Care Centre have smashed a local record by collecting 3 tonnes of paper and cardboard in a month.

The Paper From Home programme was introduced in 70 schools and education centres in Rotorua this year to entice the community into recycling paper and cardboard.

Rotorua Child Care Centre teacher Emma Hardie said since the programme had begun the Tarewa Rd centre had gone from needing their big recycling bins emptied once a week to three times a week.

"We're a community based centre so our community gets right behind us.

"We are also passionate about recycling so we hound parents to bring in their cardboard."

She said most of last month's 3-tonne haul came from parents and their workplaces.

Paper From Home project manager Jason Trask said every time an education centre recycled one tonne of paper they received $50 as an incentive.

"For the programme to work we really need someone in each education centre to have a passion for recycling, and that's what we have here."

He said to make 200 reams of paper you need to cut down at least one tree.

However, he said, the far better alternative was simply recycling paper and cardboard.

"We are about paper not going to the tip, and saving the environment, so these guys will have trees to climb in the future."

Mr Trask said the daycare had saved 17 trees from being chopped down last month alone.

One of the children at the centre, Tara Ronayne, 4, said she liked recycling because when she put paper in the big green bins it would come back as something new.

The Paper From Homes programme is funded through the government's Waste Minimisation Fund and run locally by Waipa's Full Circle Recycling.

Parents and residents are encouraged to knock on the door of any participating education facility to drop off their paper or cardboard.

To sign up your education provider for the Paper From Home programme contact Jason Trask on 022 157 1445.