Sustainability Report

Term 1 Sustainability Report

It has been a busy first term! 

 

We have almost finished the Core Module of ResourceSmart Schools and hope to gain our first star rating once we have been assessed. The Core Module is mostly strategic planning and policies and is an important part to achieving long-term goals. 

 

Waste Steams in Classrooms

Each classroom now has a 5-stream bin system including: yellow comingled recycling, paper, soft plastics, compost and landfill. In the interest of buying nothing new, the students helped to make the extra recycling bins that we needed out of old signs sourced from The Melbourne Farmers Market and Nelson Alexander. We used buckets from The Hub on Station Street that were destined for the recycling bin for the extra compost caddies we needed. 

Creating new recycling bins
Our newly made recycling bins
The five waste streams in the classrooms
Bags for soft plastic recycling
Reusing buckets for classroom compost
Creating new recycling bins
Our newly made recycling bins
The five waste streams in the classrooms
Bags for soft plastic recycling
Reusing buckets for classroom compost

 

 Eco Club

The student Eco Club has been formed and we have set up two new worm farms, which is just another way of recycling our food scraps. The students were very enthusiastic about the process and have been checking them regularly to make sure the worms are settling in! 

 

Shoe Recycling  – Accepting Donations

Our term one Shoe Recycling Drive has been very successful and we have collected over 150 pairs of shoes. They will be sent to Tread Lightly during the holidays to be recycled. Next term, we will be collecting your unwanted reusable take-away coffee cups to be given to the Fairfield Village Reusable Cup Library so dig out any you might have at home! 

Shoes ready to be recycled
Shoes ready to be recycled

 

Join the Environmental Sustainability Working Group

If you are interested in joining the Environmental Sustainability Working Group (ESWG) (our parent committee), please email me. Everyone is welcome! We meet twice a term on Thursdays at 3.45pm. If you can't make it to meetings but would like to be involved, there are many opportunities to help so please reach out

 

Easter Egg Foil Recycling

For those of you who celebrate Easter and enjoy Easter eggs, remember to roll your foil into a ball at least the size of a tennis ball before putting it into the yellow recycling bin. Small pieces of aluminium don't get picked up by the recycling machines. Aluminium is infinitely recyclable and recycling aluminium requires way less energy than mining it, so keeping as much in circulation as possible is really important. 

 

~ Amelia Trompf, FPS Sustainability Officer