Learning about recycling, waste and cleaning up the backyard is what 50 or so people did with their Sunday afternoon.

Two-year-old Kalissa Belbin, Aliana Belbin, 6, and five-year-old Zara Mack all had fun making bird feeders out of plastic bottles at the event hosted by Envirohub at the Tauranga Historic Village.

"It was good," says Zara's mum, Faye James.

"It's really nice because we recycle and are eco-friendly with everything."

'It was a really good day," says Envirohub Event Coordinator Diana Donker.

The whole purpose of the day was to educate people on how to reduce waste.

Diana says studies show people make 896kg of waste per year per person here in Tauranga. About 707kg of that goes into landfill and 70 per cent of that could have been diverted from landfill going into recycling or composting. Or other forms of being reduced or reused.

Envirohub event coordinator Diana Donker.

"We had Sue Matthews, an educator from Tauranga City Council here. She talked to children and families about recycling,” says Diana.

'She did a race - the Great Waste Race - and took all sorts of rubbish with her. People had to put it in to the right bins. She talked about toxic waste, recycling, composting and all sorts of waste.”

Tauranga Recycling Plant operations manager Victor Howe told everyone about the do's and don'ts of recycling, where recycling ends up and what is made of it.

'Recycle as much as possible. It really makes a difference. We don't want our children and grandchildren to end up with the consequences of our mess."

After years of travelling the world, Leo Murray from Why Waste, returned to the Bay of Plenty with a deep appreciation for the environment.

Seeing first-hand how carelessly the planet is treated Leo talked on the ins and out of compost making and worm farming and how to reduce the organic waste that goes into landfill.

"Leo is all about organic waste," says Diana. "That 40 per cent of rubbish that could have been composted or put into a worm farm. A very passionate person, he told us all about how to set up a worm farm.

"We finished the day with making bird feeders from recycling and then a talk on zero waste at home and how to reduce your waste."