Motueka Golden Bay News, September 1 2005
A long forgotten childhood pastime of collecting glass bottles for cash, could return as a national practice in the future, should a pettion started in Motueka gain political traction.
Community Action for People and Planet spokesman Duncan Eddy said the petition launched at the recent Ecofest would continue to be circulated throughout Nelson, Motueka and Golden Bay.
Mr Eddy said 520 signatures had been collected so far, urging the Nelson city and Tasman district councils to seek backing from environment and local government ministers to reinstate bottle deposit legislation nationwide.
“Glass recycling isn't viable anymore and local authorities are bearing the brunt.
Bottle deposits ofers a solution to the problem of growing glass mountains, said Mr Eddy.
“It wasn't long ago that bottles could be traded in for a few cents. If this system had been retained, the current glass recycling crisis would never have happened.”
He said glass recycling had become uneconomic since New Zealand's main buyer of glass for recycling dropped the price to $10 a tonne.