Ready, Set, Collect
Fourteen schools across the Manawatū are taking on the challenge to improve recycling habits within their school communities. The task is simple: collect clean plastic milk and juice lids. The school that gathers the most lids per student will win a pizza party* for their entire school!
Before a milk bottle can be recycled, its lid must be removed. This isn't due to the type of plastic, but rather the size of the lid. Small items like milk lids and juice bottle caps are often too light and small, causing problems with recycling machinery during sorting.
"Removing the lid is a habit that not everyone has adopted," says Hamish Waugh, General Manager Infrastructure. "By turning this action into a fun competition, we can help reinforce the importance of this step for everyone—from children to adults."
With recent updates to the nationwide kerbside recycling rules from the Ministry for the Environment, Manawatū District Council (MDC) has worked hard to educate the community on what can and can't be recycled.
Equally important to the success of any recycling program is what happens to the materials once they’ve been collected. For this challenge, Future Post, a New Zealand-based company, has agreed to accept the bulk collection of plastic lids. Future Post repurposes waste plastic to create durable fence posts. This partnership between MDC and Future Post was established earlier this year.
So, whether you’re officially part of the competition or not, start popping those lids off your bottles! You’ll be amazed at how quickly it adds up.
*The pizza party prize is funded by waste levy funds.