School - ACT Container Deposit Scheme

Theodore Primary School: Enviro Champion Runner-Up

teagan.went — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 04:42:00 +0000

Theodore Primary School P&C has been recognised for its recycling efforts, receiving the runners-up award in the Canberra Times ACT CDS Enviro Champion – Schools Award.

Students were already deeply engaged in learning about sustainability. Dedicated recycling bins and sustainability is part of everyday life at the school, helping teach the next generation about caring for our planet and becoming environmental superheroes.

Recycling through the ACT Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) is a key part of the school’s sustainability efforts governed by a student-led Ministry of the Environment established at the school. Container collections were started as a fundraising activity while also teaching students about environmental issues.

“We are mindful that lots of families are doing it tough financially with the cost of living increasing, and a lot of the other fundraisers involve extra costs for families. Our P&C was looking for inclusive fundraising initiatives and this seemed to tick all the boxes,” said Meg Lennard, Theodore Primary School P&C President.

“At our school, all our Year 5 and 6 students are part of our Student Parliament and they each work as part of a Ministry.

“Our Ministry of Environment students are always looking at ways to reduce waste. They often remind other classes about the importance of bringing in their containers to recycle. The students love seeing how full the bins and trailer get,” said Meg.

The school also runs competitions for students to guess how many containers are in each trailer load.

Many of the teachers have also embraced the cause, contributing their own containers from home and providing a positive example for students.

In less than one year, the school has returned more than 4,000 bottles and cans through the ACT CDS, earning the school $400 in refunds.

“We have used the funds to buy some giant sandpit toys for our junior school. We are now aiming for a set for the senior sandpit too,” said Meg.

Sustainability has always been a big part of Theodore Primary School and the students are highly aware of the importance of recycling.

“They are very good at reminding their parents when collections are on. Students of all ages often offer to pick up litter on the playground when they see it, and they are especially mindful of local birds and wildlife that could mistake litter for food.

“Both of my children have come home from school with a very positive attitude towards recycling and an understanding of how rubbish, recycling and reuse can impact the environment,” she said.

The ACT CDS is a partnership between the ACT Government, scheme coordinator Exchange for Change and network operator Return-It.

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Local business Aspen Medical and St Jude’s Primary School team up to help Kenyan school children through bottle recycling

teagan.went — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 00:51:21 +0000

Maricel Giorgioni  from Aspen Medical is working with her colleagues and local schools to raise money for charity by collecting and returning drink containers through the ACT Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) and supporting different not-for-profit organisations.

“The ACT CDS covers multiple social impacts I believe in. It increases awareness about climate change and encourages others, particularly children, to recycle and at the same time support others who are in need,” she said.

Maricel began collecting and returning containers with help from her co-workers at Aspen Medical, as well as local schools. 

“Colleagues at Aspen Medical bring their containers to the office, and once the container returns bin is full, I take it to an ACT CDS return point and donate the proceeds to a charity. Aspen Medical has a matching program where they match a certain amount of what I donate from collecting bottles,” said Maricel.

“So far, I have collected 36,139 bottles and donated $3,613.90. At the moment, it’s challenging because many people work from home. I send out emails to keep people updated on how many bottles and cans we have collected and how much we’ve raised for charity.”

Maricel’s current charity is Global School Partner, a small charity which supports children and teachers in Africa.

Kathy Laudenbach, a teacher at St Jude’s Primary School works with Maricel to organise container collections at the school.

The Year 5 students work hard to educate and encourage their peers. “We had a number of assemblies where the Year 5 children spoke about the scheme and how the money we raise here does so much for our partner school in Kenya,” she said.

The container collections have also become part of her teaching. “We talk about the impact all these containers have on the environment and our responsibility as global citizens to reduce landfill as part of our Science, Religion and Business and Economics programs,” Kathy said.

“It’s a good activity for the students to learn about recycling and to reach out to other children in need,” added Maricel. 

Interested in fundraising through the ACT CDS? Find out more on our Fundraising page. 

The ACT CDS is a partnership between the ACT Government, scheme coordinator Exchange for Change and network operator Return-It.

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Sustainability matters at Amaroo Primary School

teagan.went — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 00:34:27 +0000

Amaroo Primary School in Gungahlin is serious about creating a more sustainable school and community.

Amaroo means ‘a beautiful place’ in Nyoongar, and with the help of the Student Representative Council (SRC) and Green Team, the school yard will be a beautiful space for students to enjoy thanks to a project to recycle bottles and cans using the ACT Container Deposit Scheme (CDS).

In just under 12 months, the school has returned 4,846 drink containers through the ACT CDS ensuring those containers are recycled and don’t end up as landfill. Plus they have raised nearly $500 for school improvement and sustainability projects.

“The SRC and Green Team spearheaded the project, and came up with ideas to launch the initiative, as well as educate the student body on the importance of recycling and how to participate in ACT CDS. The students see how easy it is to recycle and the benefits to the school, community and environment, and they take these lessons into the community,” said SRC teacher Steph Booksmythe.

Students from Kindy to Year 6 voted to use the money for paper recycling bins in every class and for a ‘buddy bench’ in the playground. Keeping with the school’s sustainability focus, the bench will be bought second-hand and students will paint and decorate it to brighten up the outdoor area.

If a child feels lonely, they can go to the bench as a signal that they need someone to play with. Other children will see they need a friend, and go over to chat or include them in a game.

The school also plans to implement a ‘waste warriors’ program as part of the Green Team. Students will use rubbish grabbers and patrol the playground to collect any litter.

The students involved in the SRC are passionate about making their school and community a better place.

“I wanted to be part of SRC because as part of the team I felt like I could help change up the school to be a better place. If we send everything to landfill, then some of it ends up in the ocean and other places we don’t want it to be, and it could affect animals’ lives such as turtles,” said Year 5 student Younus.

Other Year 5 students agree. “I wanted to help the school be better and cleaner, and to help get more equipment and resources for classes. I want to be someone who helps other people in the class. It’s important to recycle so we prevent it from ending up in the oceans,” said Ben.

“I wanted to be on the SRC because I thought it would be good to participate in making the school better with other people. It’s important to recycle because it means we’re helping our environment more. If the environment is bad, then it’s bad for us – it has a bad impact on us,” said Khadija.

Interested in getting your school involved? Find out more here.

Free preschool and primary school resources now available.

Feature image: (L-R) Younus, Ben, Khadija and Noah returning the week’s containers.

The ACT CDS is a partnership between the ACT Government, scheme coordinator Exchange for Change and network operator Return-It.

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Charnwood-Dunlop students leading the way to a more sustainable future

teagan.went — Sun, 15 May 2022 23:45:00 +0000

Last year students and staff at Charnwood-Dunlop School started looking at ways to improve and rejuvenate the school recycling system. Before that the school had recycled paper and cardboard only, but after taking a closer look at the waste generated at the school it was clear that many juice boxes were being sent to landfill.

Teacher Lisa Williams realised there was an opportunity to improve recycling practices by taking the juice boxes to a nearby ACT Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) return point, generating a 10c refund for each juice box. 

‘The Charnwood deposit point is close enough that we can walk down with students, and they become part of the whole recycling process,’ Lisa says. A visit to the return point is made each week with refunds from the recycled juice boxes credited to their school account.

‘So far we have raised over $250 that can be put towards other sustainability initiatives around our school,’ says Lisa.

Students in years 3 and 4 can join a ‘Sustainability Squad’ with part of their role being to encourage other classes within the school to recycle.

‘An important job of the Sustainability Squad is to check class recycling bins, including mixed recycling, soft plastics, used pens and textas and the dedicated ACT CDS bin, and report back to each class on how they are going with their recycling,’ says Lisa. ‘This provides students and teachers with constructive feedback to improve the school’s recycling practices.’  

‘Students in the Sustainability Squad get really excited to see that their school is making a difference to the environment,’ says Lisa. ‘They come back from their duties saying things like “Kindergarten has done a really good job! All the juice boxes were in the right bin!”’

Since starting this recycling, 2,561 containers have been returned, including some from teachers who return their household containers and allocate the funds towards the school account.

Charnwood-Dunlop has also introduced a range of additional environmental initiatives, including recycling used pens and soft plastics. In 2021 the school was recognised for its commitment to sustainability and awarded the ACT Sustainability Leadership Award at the Actsmart Awards. 

‘The next step for our school is to introduce nude food days to reduce plastic waste, and we’d love to get our veggie patch up and running,’ says Lisa.

Interested in getting your school involved? Find out more here.

Free preschool and primary school resources now available.

The ACT CDS is a partnership between the ACT Government, scheme coordinator Exchange for Change and network operator Return-It.

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Fraser Primary School’s Waste Wise Warriors educate their peers

teagan.went — Fri, 06 May 2022 04:44:00 +0000

Mim Thurkettle, Elsie Harding, Lucy Lawton, Molly Campbell, and Charlie Noble are Fraser Primary School’s Waste Wise Warriors. The Year 6 girls are the driving force behind the school’s mission to collect as many recyclable containers as possible, to keep them out of landfill and raise funds for their school garden through the ACT Container Deposit Scheme.

“We love doing this, we feel like we are doing our bit for the environment but also raising money for our school,” said Lucy. “It’s good to know we’re achieving something like this.

“I feel really happy to be involved because it means we’re not wasting all of this plastic, we use so much plastic in the world and we’re able to turn it into plants,” agreed Charlie. “Instead of putting all this plastic in the bin we’re helping it to be re-used for important things and not end up in places where it can hurt the environment.”

Want to be like the Waste Wise Warriors? See how to participate in the ACT CDS.

The ACT CDS is a partnership between the ACT Government, scheme coordinator Exchange for Change and network operator Return-It.

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