More recycling and rubbish bins will be installed in time for summer with the accepted standard colour codes.

The bins will be installed in Whakatane, following the successful implementation of the technology in Rotorua and Tauranga this year as part of a campaign reinforcing the message to Kiwis: ‘Let's put litter in its place'.

The new concept bins, manufactured in Wellington by AE Tilly, incorporate best practice features to make it easier for people to distinguish their recycling from their rubbish.

These include national consistency about the colour of the bins; use of multiple languages and clear signage; as well as utilising technology to reduce overflow and make collection systems more efficient.

The campaign has been developed by The Packing Forum which promotes recycling under the Government's Love NZ brand and The Auckland Litter Prevention Steering Group which manages the Be a Tidy Kiwi brand. This is also supported by many councils around the country and the New Zealand Transport Agency and KiwiRail.

Richard Leckinger, Program Manager for Be a Tidy Kiwi says the design of bins or ‘binfrastructure' influences how people use them.

'In the past, bins have been designed to be part of the streetscape and blend in, when what we needed are eye-catching bins that use the recycling and waste colours which have been agreed nationally.”

'As well as introducing standard colours, pilot regions have also chosen signage including Chinese, Korean, Hindi and Japanese as well as English and Te Reo,” says Richard.

Lyn Mayes, Project Manager for The Packaging Forum says the colours and signage are working.

'We've studied the results from the initial pilot regions. 79 percent of what is put in the recycling bins is correct and for glass the only bins there is a 96 percent accurate performance. We've made some changes to the signage for the new bins to help improve performance,” says Lyn.

'We've also introduced a range of smaller sized 80 litre bins for where space is a premium and a moveable ‘bin frame' which Mt Roskill Intermediate School in Auckland will be trialling as a more cost-effective and mobile solution for schools.”

'Our technology partner EYEfi has further enhanced the smart units which provide an alert system to the collector so that they are emptied on demand not on a schedule. We're very excited by the potential for this technology.”

The $2.4 million project has received $1.72 million funding from The Government's Waste Minimisation Fund with a national advertising and consumer awareness campaign ‘Let's put litter in its place – it's just how we do things around here' supporting this investment in infrastructure.

The coloured bins will also be installed in Clutha, Dunedin, Mackenzie District, and New Plymouth.

The pilot regions were Marlborough, Queenstown Lakes, Rotorua, Tauranga and Wellington.