Paul Curtis, executive director of the council says that after a successful campaign last year when many local councils and local community newspapers supported the 12 days to a greener Christmas initiative, this year's will have even more impact because Foodstuffs, Progressive Enterprises and The Warehouse have all agreed to promote the Rest & Recycle message in their stores or their catalogues.
"We have seen the huge impact on shopper's attitudes that the Make a Difference campaign to reduce the number of plastic bags has made this year," he says.
"We'll be extending the focus over the holiday period from just plastic bags to a wide range of things that we can recycle- packaging, cards, wrapping paper, Christmas trees. We encourage as many retailers as possible to join in."
New Zealanders generate an estimated 30% more waste over the summer holidays in line with international trends and most of it can be recycled if people put it into the recycling crate rather than the rubbish bin, he adds.
The amount of tonnes of glass recycled goes up by about 50% in January but sales of glass and cans go up three times normal levels over the holiday period "and we want to encourage people to recycle it all."
"Part of the problem is that people tend to know the collection times when they are at home but often these vary during the holiday period or they may be down at the bach and not know local arrangements.
"We encourage every local council to join us in this campaign and have provided a template for bringing together all the information New Zealanders and holiday makers need about what, where and when to recycle over the holidays. Tourists expect to be able to recycle here just as they do at home so this information needs to be available. "
