On 7 March, Maryvale College children in Orchards will try and achieve a first as they aim to fill their playing field with upright plastic bottles as part of their recycling project.
According to pre- and primary school principal Kirsten Smith, the plastic materials which the school started collecting in 2018, is picked up by the Owl Rescue Centre. The proceeds from recycling these bottles also go to the centre. “Teachers have encouraged children to bring and collect plastic non-recyclable materials to school to make eco-bricks.
“Sweet, biscuit and chip wrappers, gift paper, dried wet-wipes, straws, and plastic cutlery are all squashed into 2-litre bottles. At this stage, the Grade 7 class have made three eco-bricks. Their aim is to make enough to build a garden planter.”
Smith said that as a school, they are trying to do their bit to save the environment and reduce the amount of plastic used on a daily basis. “Our hope is to collect enough bottles to completely cover the school field – the bottles will be stood upright and we will try to make rows and rows of bottles.
“This exercise will hopefully remind each and everyone how important it is to recycle and that if we stand together we can make a difference in caring for the environment.
“It will also be a reminder that although we are a small school, the amount of waste generated by each one of us is immense.”
Classes will collect plastic bottles up until on 7 March and on the day each grade will set out the bottles they collected. Smith said once each class has added their bottles to the field, the school will take a photo of the collection, and the photo will be an ongoing reminder that we are all responsible for caring for the environment.
The community is welcome to drop off plastic bottles at the school which will be added to the initiative on the day.
“Presently there are 303 children in the school, we are sure that if we concentrate on collecting all the bottles in and around our neighbourhoods and those that homes have used we will be able to cover the field,” she added.
To continue this awareness, the school will carry out the same initiative on the 11th of April using glass bottles. The principal said they aim to continue this effort each month, rotating between plastic and glass bottles.
Details: Maryvale College 011 640 3061.
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