KEY POINTS:
Since their introduction into Auckland's two largest cities at the end of June, recycling bins have proven to be a hit.
The 243,000 green bins - yellow lids in Manukau, blue in Auckland City - provide a combined capacity of more than 57 million litres.
And latest figures show that in the course of the fortnightly pick-up routine, a lot of that space is being filled.
In Manukau City, which has about 100,000 bins, residents increased their recycling by a third in the second half of last year.
That's double the maximum 20 per cent rise expected before the introduction of the 240-litre bins on June 30.
Between June 30 and New Year's Day, residents recycled 14,177 tonnes of rubbish, compared with 10,708 tonnes in the same period in 2007.
Thirty per cent of waste is recycled, compared with 22 per cent in 2007.
Manukau Mayor Len Brown reckons his community has been into recycling since the introduction of the recycling crates almost a decade ago.
The boxes took off "eight or nine years ago" with up to 90 per cent usage.
While that rate dropped off over the years to about 70 per cent, there was a "significant lifting again" with the introduction of the big green bins.
Mr Brown says Manukau's young people have led the recycling charge, with children "really gingering up their mums and dads" to recycle.
"People are increasingly on to environmental issues. For many people this is their way of being good, environmental citizens."
A wider "clean, tidy and proud" programme had left Manukau City noticeably cleaner, and "the desire to get recycling into a lidded container has been a part of that".
It is hoped "green waste" programmes - focusing on kitchen waste - can be established in the city in the next couple of years, Mr Brown says.
And they are embracing the bins in Auckland City, too, where tens of thousands have been issued.
Auckland City councillor Aaron Bhatnagar said the amount of recyclable rubbish going to landfills was "tracking down" as the new bins proved to be "a real big win".
There are about 143,000 recycling bins in Auckland City, with a December analysis showing up to 30 per cent of recyclables were being removed from regular rubbish bins.
Last June (just prior to the introduction of the bins), paper made up 15.2 per cent of the material being sent to landfills. It is now about 11 per cent.
Auckland City's contamination rates (amount of rubbish wrongly disposed of) are the lowest in Australasia.
As in Manukau, Aucklanders have been participating in kerbside recycling for the better part of a decade and are familiar with what products to put out for collection.
Mr Bhatnagar said the council was also keen to develop new ways of dealing with rubbish, particularly fruit and vegetable scraps and garden waste.
Recycling is handled at a plant in Onehunga, and Mr Bhatnagar said the site had "a lot more capacity" and could be expanded to accommodate recycling from other cities in Auckland - particularly if the proposed "super council" scheme is adopted.
