Raymond Buckland of Egmont Refuse and Recycling in Hawera, has started a special collection for the lids, which often end up in landfill because they are too small to be baled with other plastics.
He’s already given small bins for collecting the tops to several schools around South Taranaki.
“The secret is going into schools,” he said. “The kids will boss their parents around. They’ll be flying in once the kids take charge.”
The tops will be shredded into plastic granules at his Hawera site then sold to a firm in New Zealand that makes them into pipes and rubbish bags.