By Jamie Troughton

Some may say Malina Binns was merely fulfilling her surname destiny by volunteering for the Green Team during this year’s Zespri AIMS Games.

After all, bins will be a big focus at this week’s tournament for the 47-strong Green Team crew, made up of four local intermediate schools, tasked with diverting waste from landfills.

But that’s where the cheesy journalism pun ends. In reality, 12-year-old Ōtūmoetai Intermediate student Malina is an engaged and engaging character, whose first sports choices – rollerskating and range rifle shooting – weren’t available at AIMS.

“This is a great way to get involved - I love that there’s all kinds of sports and everybody’s included,” she explained.

“There’s something for everybody – well, almost everybody, because there’s no range shooting or rollerskating – but I really like helping out, and I love the idea of educating the public about what you can recycle.”

This will be the 19th year the Green Team has been running. Each year, thousands of kilograms of waste are recycled or composted, dramatically reducing the event’s environmental footprint.

The Green Team even had their own training, with founder Marty Hoffart guiding them through the city’s recycling facility before showing them how to set up their own rubbish stations, learning to spot a compostable coffee cup with a plastic lid or paper plates sneakily lined with gloss.

For Malina, who also counts colour-by-number painting, architecture and fashion amongst her eclectic hobbies, it’s simply a great way to give back.

“I’ll be bringing a positive attitude this week and a lot of education for the public.”

Article added: Tuesday 02 September 2025