Bay of Plenty sports clubs will be winning on and off the field this season thanks to a charitable trust taking on the battle of waste minimisation among grassroots activities.

LiteClub design advisor Russell Grant and intern Dan Kelly with Abigail Robinson, 4, and Ellie Wallis, 4, with Impact Gymsports centre manager Deirdre Campion learning about recycling. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

The LiteClub team, with a van stocked to the brim with efficient lighting, water-saving devices, hot water cylinder wraps, pipe lagging and indoor sorting-at-source recycling stopped at 13 Bay of Plenty sports clubs last month.

The idea is to improve water, energy and waste facilities – transforming clubs into efficiency champions – and ultimately enabling more club money to stay in the coffers for grassroots sport.

Launched in 2011 LiteClub, the grassroots arm of the Project Litefoot Trust, helps to inspire Kiwis to become environmental champions led by 10 top sportspeople, including Brendon McCullum, Sarah Walker, Conrad Smith and Barbara Kendall and the example they set in their own lives.

LiteClub head of operations Sam Maclean says while a range of sporting codes were visited, waste disposal options in Tauranga is a big issue, and good facilities would help clubs reduce the amount of waste they send to landfills.

Mount Maunganui's Impact Gymsports received a visit – and though already running quite an efficient operation, was able to boost their waste minimisation with six indoor recycling bins set up in three separate stations.

This will help improve club conditions and also reduce how much waste is sent to landfill by making members think about whether their waste can be recycled.

At Harbourside Netball Centre, the LiteClub field team upgraded club lighting significantly, in addition to waste minimisation.

Fifty-five 'energy hungry” incandescent light bulbs were replaced with modern, efficient models – estimated to save the club $10,000 in the eight-year lifetime of the new lighting.

From the eight Bay of Plenty clubs visited in March, LiteClub's free changes are expected to save $21,000 for grassroots sport.

Sam says because clubs are usually cash-strapped and run by busy volunteers who don't have the time or money to make these changes the charitable trust is able to step in and lending a helping hand with time and knowledgeable expertise.

'By providing clubs with free, efficient products and installing them too, LiteClub saves money for sport and shows that it can go hand-in-hand with saving the planet as well.”

LiteClub has visited 509 clubs – from Kaitaia to Invercargill – and made changes slated to save them $2.6 million, 160 million litres of water, divert more than 1000 tonnes of waste from landfill into recycling and prevent 2079 tonnes of C02 emissions.

Sam says by spending less on utilities that don't directly benefit grassroots sport, money can go back into coaching, player development and buying new gear.

For every dollar invested in LiteClub, $2.60 is saved for community sport.

For more information, club officials can visit www.liteclub.org or call 09 377 6792 and ask for Sam.