Love NZ - love recycling
Lenora Prosser (left) and Binh Lo recycling at Westpac Stadium
"Fantastic", "a ripper", "about time" and "we love New Zealand and we care" were among the comments from Flash Gordons, fairies, Lego men, car fresheners and leprechauns enjoying Wellington's NZI Rugby Sevens tournament - but they weren't talking about the rugby.
The flamboyantly dressed spectators were expressing their support for a Greater Wellington, Stadium Trust and Ministry for the Environment partnership to encourage recycling at stadium events.
Forty-two recycling bins displaying the Ministry's "Love NZ - Recycle with Care" logo were dotted around the Westpac Stadium for the tournament, and they'll be there for future events as well. It's hoped the bins will reduce waste going from the stadium into landfills by 40%.
"I've been using these bins for all my bottles - they're fantastic," well-known Sevens spectator "Colonel Sanders" said at the event.
Greater Wellington Chair Fran Wilde says that by reducing waste going into landfills, we save money on disposal costs, extend the life of existing landfills (to avoid creating new ones) and reuse potentially valuable resources.
This initiative is funded by the stadium and a grant from the Ministry for the Environment's "Recycling in Public Places Initiative".