On Friday Week 6, Year 5 students from Ramsey 3 collected all of the waste they generated for the day, divided it into types of waste and counted all the pieces. They then did some calculations from this sample to figure out what this would mean across the whole school. The results were staggering! Would you believe:
- Reynella East College generates over 500,000 pieces of soft plastic every year, which goes straight into landfill
- We also use over 100,000 pieces of hard plastic per year, which unfortunately also currently ends up in landfill
- If we collected all of our 10c containers, we would make about $12,000 per year. What a fundraising opportunity, that would also help the environment!
The class discussed the problems plastics can cause. They were all aware of the massive issues it causes for our environment, such as by killing marine fauna that mistake it for plant life and feed on it, but when they researched the worldwide figures on plastic, they were astonished – it was 350,000,000,000 kilograms!
They then discussed how to change attitudes towards recycling. Despite everyone knowing that plastic is harmful, they still use it for convenience. The class figured out that we could save lots of money by buying food in bulk. A family with three children, who brought recess and lunch snacks (Tiny Teddies and Pringles) in reusable plastic containers would save over $300 every year and would also use 1200 less pieces of soft plastic!
So what are we going to do about it?
With the help of a Les Perry Memorial Grant from the Southern Region Waste Resource Authority we have ordered new recycling bins for primary classes and more Council bins to improve our recycling, particularly of hard plastics. Along with collecting and cashing in our refundable containers, our wonderful Ramsey Recyclers will help gather up the recycling bins each week.
