Sustainability

Zero Waste Festival

Have you ever wondered how plastic clothes hangers get recycled into stools? Or why some countries around the world are starting to scrap “best before dates” on food items? 

The Zero Waste Festival was an event held at Federation Square on the 17th September this year (the first day of the school holidays), and it was an opportunity I was fortunate enough to have experienced. As well as answering all the questions above, plus supplying many other solutions to waste-related problems within our community, this unique festival also had numerous displays educating people about topics such as plastic recycling, wasted inks or making paper at home. 

There were a plethora of fascinating exhibitions which all opened my eyes to a topic I had previously never thought much about, but one thing which I will never forget is making plastic accessories out of clothes hangers. Precious Plastics Melbourne, an organisation based around recycling old plastic products, has designed an array of machines which help turn one plastic product into another, and I was able to experience this amazing process first-hand. 

First, the object (in this case a coat hanger) was dropped into a machine which chopped it up into fine pieces. Then those plastic shards were put through another machine which heated them up until they formed a viscous liquid. Finally, that liquid could be put into a mould and shaped into the desired object (such as a stool).         

Throughout my visit, I learned the most from the live panel discussion about food waste. Across from the exhibition area was a small theatre where anyone could have a seat and listen to the fascinating panel discussions taking place every hour. 

From this discussion, I gained new knowledge about what it means to dumpster-dive, as well as why it is important not to throw out food based purely on its “best before date”. Also, I became more aware of the effects of moral licensing when composting, and how labelling food items in the fridge with tape could help to reduce food waste. 

As I was about to leave, I unexpectedly came across Ms Hui. I was proud to discover that she was actually one of the co-founders of this festival! 

Altogether, the Zero Waste Festival was one of the best experiences I had throughout my holidays, and it was totally worth the entirety of my first day off from school! It was interactive, interesting and definitely captivating, as well as being highly educational. It opened my eyes to issues I had never before contemplated, and taught me ways in which to live a more sustainable, zero-waste lifestyle. 

Lachlan M., 6B

The Zero Waste Festival

During the holidays, my brother Lachlan and I went to a Zero-Waste Festival. When we got there, there were a lot more stalls than I expected. 

My favourite stall was one where you can buy food/snacks and there is no plastic (this is called a bulk food store) but instead they use paper bags. It was called Rhys Pect Food. We bought some chocolate covered pepitas and some BBQ corn. I learnt that you definitely don’t need plastic and it’s better to use paper bags or even better, bring your own container.

I also liked the Dodgy Paper stall where they recycle other papers that were wasted and turn it into new paper. We bought a few pieces of paper from them because I thought that they looked really abstract. I was extremely inspired by this stall and I’ll try and reuse paper.

I greatly liked this event and I think they should definitely hold it every year. I will certainly come next year to see the stalls and be inspired.

Rohan M., 4B

Sustainability Events & Resources

(Our school is not affiliated with any of these)

National Ride2Work Day

Wednesday 19 October

Whether you cycle regularly, or just to want to give it a try, National Ride2Work Day is all about getting on your bike and doing your bit for the environment. More info.