It didn’t happen overnight.

MGC has been on a journey to zero waste to landfill for over a decade. Given that our site is actually built on a former tip site, our highly reactive landfill for soil causes all manner of headaches for our facilities team, adding significant cost blow outs to building projects and causing multiple large subterranean pipe bursts pouring thousands of litres of drinking water into the Yarra.

Sadly, we have been learning and teaching about our local contribution to the waste problem for years; our own curriculum tells the story of the Pristine Birrarung weaving its way through Melbourne getting more and more polluted as it makes its way into Nerm (Port Phillip). We talk about the effects of litter on wildlife and waterways and the issues with non-biodegradable waste filling up our landfills and leaching hazardous wastes into soils and surrounding water to contaminate our environment despite our best efforts to contain it. We teach of affluenza and measure our ecological footprints. We pat ourselves on the back for participating in nude food days and shake our heads at horrendous images of drowned wildlife trapped in plastic or a juvenile seabird’s decaying carcass spilling open with a gut full of plastic.

It’s not our fault.

We recycle.

We don’t buy our bananas wrapped in plastic.

We don’t even use balloons anymore!

But the data shows that our community has not got the message. In the last 12 months, MGC has produced 0.28m3 of landfill per student (in addition to all the paper, cardboard, co-mingled recycling, polystyrene, batteries, softplastic, printer toners, lightbulbs, glass, metal and E-waste that has been separated on site and sent to recycling).

This week MGC decided to do something different. We decided to remove all landfill bins (with some exceptions) to make everyone reflect on how much waste their lifestyle generates. The Marine Biology and Environmental Science classes have been participating in the Plastic Free July Challenge for the last three years and the impact is profound. We hope that this will have a similar, positive experience that will encourage the community to discuss the waste issue and find out solutions that work for individuals. If you have any suggestions, concerns or simply would like to show your support for the venture, then please feel free to contact me or attend our free community information evening 6-7.30pm on Thursday 5th of September in the library.

We would like to acknowledge our supporters of the program The EnviroShop, Terra Madre, Zero Waste Victoria, Sustainability Victoria, Sustainable Sally from 3AW and the City of Yarra. All of whom have donated their time and in some cases, prizes to incentivise our students to bring their food nude!

Andrew Vance

Sustainability Coordinator

Our Zero Waste Journey...

In 2013 we won a Keep Australia beautiful grant to upgrade our bin infrastructure

In 2015, the year 12s each purchased an MGC ‘Lead and Achieve’ branded Keep cup.

In 2017 we tackled forks. IKEA came on board and donated 100 reusable forks and we worked with the canteen to try and convince the community to give up the convenience of disposable forks.

In 2018, we went back to disposable cup addiction that Melbournians had. We bought more keep cups, our canteen offered discounts for anyone who ‘BYO’d’. Mr Clarke even dressed up in a pantomime coffee cup and danced a choreographed routine with the 2018 environment captains to prove that the cups were plastic lined and non-recyclable (Note to anyone at that assembly, the costume was destroyed as part of the act before a good photo was taken, so if anyone captured the scene, please contact Mr Vance!).

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