Bottle buy-back bonanza in Kaitaia

Twins Dallas and Davante Thompson, and Manaia Wright, were very happy with the $20 they each received from Sandra Murray on Saturday in exchange for 600 cans.

Warren Snow was hoping for a positive response to the launch of his Cash for Containers initiative at Kaitaia's market on Saturday, and he wasn't disappointed.

More than $1700 was paid (thanks to local sponsors) for well over 20,000 bottles in little more than four hours, while 15 pages of a petition calling on the government to introduce a container deposit scheme were signed.

Mr Snow said Australia had already proved how successful a deposit scheme could be, on more than one level. Scouts in South Australia were raising millions of dollars by returning containers for recycling, and lifting the deposit from five cents to 10 cents had seen a 20,000 increase in containers collected.

Depots were now common across Australia, he said.

Mayor John Carter was equally enthusiastic. Everyone benefited, he said - kids, families and organisations could raise substantial sums at no cost to the original consumer.

" There are no losers," he said.

"We can create a genuine income stream and reduce the cost of landfilling rubbish with no impost on the community.

"This programme has been estimated as having the capacity to save ratepayers $23-$40 million a year."

One family had collected $120 on Saturday, Mr Carter added.