The Bay of Plenty Regional Council's wetland project is receiving praise from Environment Minister Nick Smith.

Nick was at the launch of the wetland at Lake Rotoehu as part of his visit to the Bay of Plenty on Wednesday.

Nick Smith at the wetland launch.

During his visit he also announced a $60,000 grant for the Tauranga Environment Centre.

Nick says more needs to be done to protect the environment and the 2800sqm floating wetland is one way to help restore water quality.

'Native plants are planted on floating island of plastic bottles, which then form a new habitat for both the plants and the wildlife,” says Nick.

'The roots of the plant reach into the water, removing nitrogen as the plants grow.

'Because the plants are naturally working to remove the nitrogen from the water, we are giving nature a hand to solve a manmade problem.”

The joint project between the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the Te Arawa Lakes Trust encompasses 364,000 recycled plastic soft-drink bottles and is one initiative of the Rotorua Lakes protection and restoration programme in which the government has invested $72.1 million.

'The Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the Te Arawa Lakes Trust have successfully used floating wetlands on local lakes and are looking to extent their use.

'Nitrogen from intensifying land-use is one of the causes of the algal blooms that chose the waterways in and around the Rotorua lakes.

'As well as improving the quality of water in the lakes, the floating wetlands are also providing a habitat for wildlife such as native crayfish species like koura and bird life.”

Nick says using recycled plastic drinking bottles that may have otherwise ended up in a landfill, is great for the environment.

'To use them to help improve water quality and provide a habitat for local wildlife is a huge bonus.”