Call for refund scheme

Marty Hoffart is calling for a cash incentive to motivate people to recycle bottles. Photo / George Novak

A Tauranga man is calling on the New Zealand Government to re-instate a cash-for-beverage containers scheme in efforts to reinvigorate recycling.

Marty Hoffart, chairman of EERST which runs the Paper4Trees programme, said there would be fewer incidents like the booze bottles left behind at a Papamoa beach after a party earlier this month if a bottle refund scheme was established. His son Jake Hoffart, a Youth MP, will take the cause to Parliament next year.

A report released last week recommended bringing back bottle refunds, or cash for containers, to lift recycling rates.

Mr Hoffart said critics would label the move as old fashioned but it was proving its worth in Australia where some states had experienced a significant reduction in pollution.

He said a container deposit scheme would have deep benefits to the Bay, "especially if we think about what's happening at the Mount over the next two months".

"You don't have to look far to see council rubbish bins filled and stuffed with bottles."

Mr Hoffart said New Zealand would no longer be the clean, green image it sells itself on if nothing was done.

The InCENTive to Recycle report estimated a bottle refund incentive would only cost the beverage industry half a cent per container, but would increase beverage container recycling every year by 45,000 tonnes. The move would create thousands of jobs and divert 180,000 cubic metres of waste from landfill - saving New Zealanders between $26 million and $40 million per year in waste disposal costs.

The report, released by Envision New Zealand, called for the reintroduction of a mandatory container deposit scheme - where empty bottles could be returned to recycling centres or shops for a small refund.

Minister for the Environment Nick Smith said he would take a further look into the issue.

"The advice from officials has previously been that container deposit schemes cost more than the environmental benefits they bring," Mr Smith said.