Sport recycling campaign wants more Whanganui businesses to jump on board

Ross Kinnerley and Harry Unsworth of Sport Whanganui picking up recycled sports equipment from Downer. Photo / Supplied

A Whanganui sport recycling initiative is seeking community support to continue fuelling the programme.

Sport Whanganui is working with the Replay to bring unused sports equipment from households to benefit schools and organisations.

Palmerston North mother and sports enthusiast Denise Mclean started Replay in 2017.

Sport Whanganui marketing and communications lead Louise Follett said the organisation had redistributed more than 500 pieces of equipment to 18 schools across the Whanganui region since 2018.

"That has a big impact on kids' involvement in sport. From our perspective, it is about passing on the passion for play. You have a piece of equipment, you are replacing it, why not give it a new lease of life for someone else to benefit?"

The initiative has been a huge success, but Sport Whanganui would like to see the community get behind it.

Collection bins are at Rebel Sport, Hunting and Fishing, Whanganui High School and Collegiate at this stage, and Sport Whanganui is looking for others.

"We are always looking for other businesses to come aboard and have a bin at their business, whether that is for their own staff or for the public."

Follett said the bins could be there for as long or as little as people wished.

"There is always someone that can use it."

The environmental benefits of recycling unused and unwanted sports equipment could not be overstated, Follett said.

"It doesn't need to go into a landfill, it's got more hours it can be utilised for play."

The initiative moulds perfectly with Sport Whanganui's ethos of encouraging kids to be active in recreational play.

"Sport and recreation is for everybody, it is about removing barriers. That's key to a lot of the work we do. This is a great example of that, and it's about the community supporting that and people's generosity is key."

For more information on Replay, contact Ross Kinnerley of Sport Whanganui's Active Communities team at rossk@sportwhanganui.co.nz.