Precious Plastics Incursion

Last week, our Year 7 LEAP class had the exciting opportunity to participate in a Precious Plastics incursion, where they delved into the world of recycling and sustainable practices. 

The session offered a hands-on exploration of the plastic recycling process and provided valuable insights into the various grades of plastics, their specific uses, and their impact on durability and the broader recycling economy.

Students learned not only about the importance of recycling but also how different types of plastics can be repurposed into new, useful items. As part of the activity, they engaged in a practical task by shredding bottle caps, which they then heated to 180 degrees. With the melted plastic, students had the creative opportunity to mould the material into everyday items like pens, Jenga blocks, or carabiners.

The incursion was a fun educational experience, allowing students to see firsthand how everyday waste can be transformed into something valuable. It also encouraged them to think more critically about sustainability and their role in the recyclable economy. By making sustainability both interactive and enjoyable, this event left a lasting impression on our students, reinforcing the importance of recycling in a practical and engaging way.

Maria Lelekakis

LEAP Leader

In the precious plastics incursion, the ability to recycle and reuse plastics back to near full potential is a very simple but creative way to reuse one of the biggest problems that earth faces in current years. Learning about plastic has made my understanding of plastics much greater than before and has shown me the process of making earth a more sustainable place for all of us. This incursion has widened my understanding about plastics and ways we can or could reuse them, furthermore showing human knowledge to have the power not only to create but to innovate.

Logan, 7J

Last week we had a visit from a member of the precious plastics organization. Bill taught us a great understanding of the varieties of plastic there is and how each can be recycled. He then gave us a demonstration on how to recycle bottle caps to make things such as carabiners, Jenga blocks and pens. In my opinion in the end we had a great time and I had a lot of fun learning about how plastic is recycled and how it can turn into other things.

Ileanna, 7J

The precious plastics incursion was a great experience that was fun and creative. Our class was engaged through the making of recycled plastic pens, carabiners and jenga blocks, all the while we were learning about recycling for the better.

Jack, 7J

I think the incursion was interesting and knowledgeable as we learned about how plastic can damage the environment. wealso learned about the different types of plastics. What stood out for me was how bits of plastics can be formed and shaped into recycled objects like pens, jenga blocks and carabiners. 

This made me think of how my actions can change how clean the environment can stay by recycling plastics that are not in use any more.

Dilsanjh, 7J