It's already the biggest ever – now an army of volunteer students hopes to make next week's NZCT AIMS GAMES the cleanest and greenest games ever too.

With more than 10,000 athletes, managers and supporters inundating Tauranga for the week-long intermediate-aged championship, ‘Green Teams' will be out in force promoting recycling and helping reduce waste.

The Tahatai Coast School Green Team: Hunter Calkin, Hunter Perry, Tayla-Paige Fisher and Hope Sawford getting ready for a big AIMS GAMES recycling effort. Photo: Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media Services.

'We want to divert more than half the waste going to landfill for the week,” says Waste Watchers Limited director Marty Hoffart.

'It's a pretty ambitious goal but we've had incredible support, not only from tournament organisers but also from suppliers.

'And our Green Teams are the key, assisting the public and helping organize our recycling stations around the event.”

Major sponsor Fonterra have supplied 27 wheelie bins to the cause, while Coffee Chic will serve all their barista brews in special compostable cups.

The Green Teams – made up of more than 30 student volunteers from local Year 7 and 8 students – will encourage competitors, coaches and spectators to reduce waste to landfill by using labelled recycling and food scrap bins.

Their focus will be to highlight the importance of separating recyclable material as well as the food and organics from landfill waste.

Tournament director Vicki Semple says with a record 7500 athletes attending, she can only imagine the amount of muesli bars, Anchor Fast Starts and bananas needed to keep everyone fuelled and firing.

'That's a lot of potential waste but, from the outset, we've wanted this event to not only be an incredible event for participating athletes but also environmentally sustainable.

'Tauranga City Council and Waste Watchers have played a huge role in helping us achieve that goal.”

All material will be collected by Waste Management, sorted and sent to various recycle centres, while organic waste will be taken to local company, Revital, for composting.

Last year, the event achieved its 45 per cent waste diversion goal and is continuing to lift the bar.

The NZCT AIMS GAMES starts on Sunday, with cross country and the opening ceremony, and continues across 17 sporting codes at venues across Tauranga until Friday, September 12.

Parents and supporters can follow the 2014 NZCT AIMS GAMES at www.nzaimsgames.co.nz or on Facebook www.facebook.com/NZCTAIMSGAMES