Sustainable snapshot

Starting on day one of Term 3 students can earn themselves a raffle ticket for bringing less single use plastic items in their lunchboxes. Hillsmeade PS is committed to reducing landfill waste both at school and at home. 

Single use plastics are the most common items that end up in landfill, as well as the most common items found in the ocean. By doing your bit, and reducing the amount of single use plastics you purchase you can contribute to a more sustainable future and at Hillsmeade we are proud to be part of this movement. 

What is Single Use Plastics?

Single-use plastic products (SUPs) are used once, or for a short period of time, before being thrown away. The impacts of this plastic waste on the environment and our health are global and can be drastic. 

Common single use plastics are below, as well as plastic bags and coffee cups. 

Getting involved in Plastic Free July: 

• All students from ELC - Grade 6 are going to get involved in Tidy Up Tuesday (ELC - Grade 2) or Tidy Up Thursday (Grade 3-6) with the class collecting the most rubbish from our school yard winning a prize. 
• WASTE FREE WEDNESDAY ~ Everyone is encouraged to get involved, including Hillsmeade Staff! Bring less wrappers (Single Use Plastics) in your lunchbox to earn yourself a raffle ticket each Wednesday, the raffle winner will be drawn each assembly. This will continue after July and students are encouraged to bring less rubbish each day of the week to earn themselves more raffle tickets. 
• Have a closer look at the groceries you buy, are there any swaps you can make to reduce the purchase of Single Use Plastics. Can you swap individual bags of snacks for a larger packet and use reusable containers to separate into individual serves. 

We have been excited to launch new waste bins at Hillsmeade Primary School so we can better sort our recyclable items from our landfill items. 

Our new waste bins include a red landfill bin and a yellow mixed recycling bin, we also have boxes for the CDS (Container Deposit Scheme) so we can make sure our juice boxes, milks, bottles and cans also get to where they can be recycled all while earning our school 10cents. 

Students have been really engaged in thinking about what bin to use and how the items can be recycled again once sent off in the mixed recycling bin. 

These discussions can continue at home with the below handy guide on what can and can not be recycled in the City of Casey recycling bins.