Tauranga City Council has once again teamed up with Keep Tauranga Beautiful to run a Summer Recycling Ambassador programme over the busy summer period at Mount Maunganui.

Ten new ‘smart technology' waste and recycling bins were installed at Mount Maunganui in early December to help tackle overflowing litter bins during the busy summer period.

Recycling Ambassadors will be stationed at these bins in litter hotspots around the Mount to advise the public how to put their litter in the right place.

The smart technology bins are powered by solar and send notifications to the contractor when the bin is nearing capacity.

The ambassadors hope to educate residents, cruise ship passengers and other summer tourists about the importance of using rubbish and recycling bins and which items can be placed in which bins.

Tauranga City Council's acting manager for resource recovery and waste, Cathy Davidson, says the ambassadors will help to keep the contamination of the recycling bins at a minimum, meaning more items can be recovered for recycling.

'The Recycling Ambassadors will also be conducting a survey about people's attitudes and understanding of recycling, which will be very useful for future decisions about public place recycling bins,” says Cathy.

The Summer Recycling Ambassador programme has been running since Boxing Day and will continue until Monday, January 8 to cover the peak visitor period and cruise ship schedules.

‘We hope this face to face engagement will result in the streets of Mount Maunganui having a lot less litter this year.”

Litter spotted at Mount Main Beach on Boxing Eve earlier this week. Photo: Bruce Barnard.