Milford Sound cleans up it's rubbish act

Rubbish going to landfills from Milford Sound has been cut by 55 per cent after just three weeks of recycling.

The Milford Sound Development Authority opened three transfer stations in the Freshwater Basin on March 1 to reduce the 400 tonnes of rubbish accumulated in Milford annually.

The bins service about 90 per cent of people in Milford including residents, businesses, cruise ships and other tourists. Authority operations manager Andrew Welsh said the recycling stations were introduced to protect New Zealand's clean and green image. "The 100% Pure campaign is all about offering visitors an experience that shows off the country.

"We cannot be burying it (rubbish) in the ground and saying we are clean and green at the same time," he said.

It was the authority's aim to reduce rubbish going to landfill by 25 per cent through recycling and 75 per cent by this time next year, Mr Welsh said.

But the percentage had already been cut by more than half, which was amazing, he said.

Real Journeys operations manager Angus Small was a bit anxious about the transition to recycling in the beginning because of the potential of added stress to business operations but said it had been a huge success.

"We are living in a pretty spectacular environment and this shows we are looking after the environment," he said.

He expected the target of 75 per cent reduction in waste to easily be achieved by the start of next summer.

Mr Welsh said the transfer stations included five recycling bins where people were expected to sort their own rubbish, and operation costs involved with moving it was paid for by local businesses.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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