The
Recycling in Public Places Initiative is
a partnership between central and local
government to establish a network of easily
recognisable recycling bins in high foot-traffic
and key tourist locations across New Zealand.
With 600 bins in place
by 2010, the initiative is the start of
a solution to provide New Zealanders and
overseas visitors with the option to recycle
while they are out and about. It also aims
to support recycling facilities that organisations
have already established for their customers
and encourage more businesses to set up
their own facilities or contribute to the
network in their regions.
The Recycling in Public
Places Initiative is part of the government’s
commitment to make New Zealand a sustainable
nation.
Objectives
Help New Zealanders make sustainable choices
by providing facilities to recycle away
from home
Enhance international visitor perceptions
of a ‘clean, green New Zealand’ though a
visible, easily identifiable, network of
public recycling facilities
Raise awareness of recycling in public and
encourage appropriate use of the bins.
Branding
The bins will all feature the Love NZ -
Recycle with care brand to make them easily
recognisable as recycling bins and to encourage
recycling while New Zealanders and overseas
visitors are out and about.
Marketing the brand
through a promotional campaign is part of
the initiative and occurs in areas where
the Recycling in Public Places bins are
being set up.
Why focus on recycling
in public places?
Establishing a network of recycling bins
across New Zealand in public places will:
engage the public on
waste issues and raise the profile of recycling
assist in capturing the economic benefits
of minimising waste – including through
the creation of new markets and new products
from recovered materials, and the development
of infrastructure to support recycling
encourage innovative solutions to waste
disposal problems
assist councils in their waste management
performance
extend the recovery of recyclables from
domestic kerbside to public places
enable businesses to contribute their expertise
and take responsibility for the environmental
and disposal problems of manufactured products.
How does it work?
The Ministry for the Environment will partner
with councils (and partnerships of multiple
local authorities) to purchase and install
around 200 bins annually for three years
(ending June 2010). The Ministry will contribute
to the servicing of the bins until 2010
once the bins are installed.
The bins will collect a range of common
packaging materials including 1 and 2 plastics,
glass and cans for recycling, depending
on councils’ operational requirements.
The bins will be recognisable through the
Love NZ - Recycle with care brand and supported
with a locally delivered public awareness
campaign.
After June 2010 individual councils will
be responsible for the long term operational
and maintenance of the bins in their area.
Councils are encouraged to work with local
businesses and develop partnerships to install
and operate bins in high usage, privately-owned
places such as shopping malls, airports
and service stations.
The deliverables of the initiative (recycling
facilities, branding, marketing campaign
materials) have the potential to benefit
recycling at major events.
Who is eligible for government funding?
Local councils and partnerships headed by
local councils.
How is funding allocated?
Councils can apply for funding through an
annual funding round. See the section on
key dates below for more details.
The application process sets out the criteria
by which the applications will be assessed
for funding.
The initiative aims to fund the purchase
and installation of 210 bins in 2008/2009
and 220 bins in 2009/2010.
The focus for the project will be large
metropolitan areas, high foot traffic areas
and high tourist throughput areas.
Key dates for 2008/09 applications
Applications will open for the 2008/2009
year on 28 April and close at 4pm on 13
June. Councils will be notified by 14 July
of their application’s success.
Application guidelines
Read application guidelines online
Download as PDF for printing (PDF 154 KB)
Application form
Download the application form in Word format
(436 KB)
Download the application form as PDF for
printing (PDF 67 KB)
The pilot programme
The first year of the Recycling in Public
Places Initiative has been to pilot the
process of setting up the recycling infrastructure,
creating the Love NZ – Recycle with care
brand for the bins, establishing the evaluation
programme and setting up the reporting mechanisms.
Evaluation process
The evaluation process for the Recycling
in Public Places Initiative is fundamental
to the successful delivery of this project.
Evaluation for this initiative will encompass
both strategic and operational monitoring.
This is necessary to evaluate the success
of the initiative and to determine the integrity
of the project.
The evaluation programme
will be a combination of three different
data collections:
1. Quantitative bin
auditing of the pilot council bins
This aims to establish:
the quantity of material
being put into the Love NZ - Recycle with
care bins,
the composition of the material being put
in the bins.
To maintain data integrity, standardisation
of the methods of data collection for the
bin auditing across the different regions
is vital.
The Ministry for the
Environment is funding a bin auditing programme
for the four pilot councils. This programme
will be run by Waste Not Consulting who
will work with the pilot councils and collection/recycling
operators to set up and deliver monthly
audits of the materials recovered from the
Love NZ - Recycle with care bins in the
first 12 months of their operation (from
May 2008 to May 2009).
2. Monthly operational
information from all councils
This aims to establish:
the total number of
bins in operation
the trends for the ongoing servicing of
the bins
seasonal variation in servicing requirements
in different areas.
All participating councils will keep ongoing
monthly operational reports on the Love
NZ – Recycle with care bins as part of the
programme. This will provide information
on seasonal variations in servicing requirements.
3. Qualitative public
surveying in the areas where bins are located.
This aims to establish:
the public’s reception
to the bins
how people have learned about the bins
the public’s understanding of what the bins
are for
special requirements for the public awareness
campaigns.
The Ministry for the Environment aims to
fund two public surveys for the evaluation
programme that will cover the population
of regions that contain bins in the summer
of 2008/2009 and 2009/2010.
More information
If you:
represent a local council,
you can read the application guidelines
on how to applying to join the initiative.
represent a business who would like to be
involved in recycling – you can read the
application guidelines and contact your
local council, or a local council that you
may want to partner with.
represent an organisation that already has
recycling facilities, but would like to
use the Love NZ – Recycle with care brand
for your bins please contact the Ministry
for the Environment.
