SMPS Sustainability

Organic Waste

We are averaging 14kg of organic waste each school day which means that by the end of this 10th week in Term 2 we will have diverted 700kg of organic matter from landfill – in only one TERM !!!!

As you can imagine our two worm farms (donated by parents) are not coping with this volume. Volunteer parents have been dropping our excess organic waste at the South Melbourne Market which uses a system of fermentation and dehydration to turn it into garden fertilizer. We are in the process of researching opportunities for donations of more worm farms and composting bins. If anyone in the School Community has contacts that could assist, please let the front office know or contact Kelly on 0488 045 666.

We are happy to report that due to everyone’s commitment to our waste separation the school has been able to reduce their waste collection costs significantly. This week we changed our bulk bin configurations and were able to consolidate the following:

A big thank you to all the volunteer parents who have helped make this happen. We are also very encouraged by the commitment shown by students at the school and recognize that it is this generation and future generations who will benefit from what we all do today.

Colgate Community Garden Challenge TerraCycle

Please don’t waste your oral care and bring it to school once you are done with it. We have a drop-off location near the library. We will also support families living in high-rise apartments to enlist help from neighbours with posters. Posters are available at reception or download here:

Parents Poster Votes Only Parents Poster Collection Colgate

For more ideas and assistance contact Adriana: 0478 302 105

Program accepted waste: Any brand of used toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, plastic toothbrush packaging, interdental brushes, wisps, pumps, stand up toothpaste bottles and any kind of non-electric toothbrush or toothpaste tube and all affiliated non-recyclable packaging.

1 unit of oral care waste = 10 Garden Points

1 online vote = 1 Garden Point VOTE HERE: https://www.terracycle.com/en-AU/contests/colgategardenvoting

We need votes for the school from the community so ask everyone you know to vote for us online or scan the QR Share on social media. The QR Code is on a poster located near the library.

REMEMBER We can win one of the garden sets worth $6,000:

Three (3) garden beds

Two (2) custom-made benches

One (1) $500 Bunnings Warehouse gift voucher to buy gardening supplies

We can do it parents! We have until 30 September 2019