At St Joseph's we are trying to find new ways to minimise the impact of the waste that we as a school creates.

We have been recycling our paper, cardboard, plastic and glass containers in a commingled recycling bin. This bin is similar to the council curbside recycling bin that we have at home. This is a good way, however having so many different items made from different materials in the one bin can lead to contamination. We are constantly looking for new ways to recycle.

Last year we introduced the collection of containers as part of the 10c container deposit scheme. The containers then get recycled more effectively and money also goes back into the school. You can also collect on the schools behalf by using the code below to make a donation from your collected 10c containers.

This term the Earthcare team is trialing a paper recycling system. We will collect used paper and cardboard from the school by keeping them out of our commingled recycling. Our material sorted will then be donated to a Parish that already has this system set up. This Parish takes the material to a recycling centre and receives a refund which they donate to Vinnies. The funds are then used to stock their pantry.

This year we will continue to look for new recycling and reusing methods to continue to minimise the footprint our waste can create.

Currently at St Joes we recycle or rehome:

This maybe reusing the below items in some form - but basically we are keeping the below items out of landfill

Paper
Cardboard
Plastic containers
Glass containers
Batteries
Textas
Pencils
Photocopy cartridges
Electrical items
Used school bags/uniforms/school pencil cases
Old library books/readers
Coffee cups and lids
Food waste - classroom, staffroom and cafe

This week see if you can see something in your landfill bin that you can firstly stop using (find an alternative) or reuse the item and lastly recycle. Recycling is the last solution to waste that has already been created.

Please let us know if you have any creative ways to refuse, reuse or recycle different items.

The Earthcare team would love to hear it.

dtaylor@sjcribpoint.catholic.edu.au

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