Lourdes Primary School from Diepkloof made Soweto proud when they were rewarded for environmental excellence at the Schools Recycling Awards at the Pyramid Conference Centre in Johannesburg last Tuesday.
The event was hosted by the Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI), the soft drink division of South African Breweries (SAB) supported by the PET Recycling Company (PETCO).
Lourdes was amongst the top 10 schools and took on fierce competition to emerge victorious.
The school was crowned first runner-up and received a cheque of R20 000 for their hard work.
Zenzo Ncube, a teacher and facilitator for the recycling project at the school, said it was an honour to be acknowledged for their hard work.
“I would like to urge other schools in Soweto to see recycling as another form of making money.
“We now can build a science lab because of this competition,” he said.
Maria Mgabi, the school principal, said they got parents and residents involved in campaigns that insured that they collected more.
“The job is never done, we are always collecting and I am sure that next year we are going to win this competition,” Mgabi said.
Gaopaleloe Mothoagae Sustainable Development Manager at ABI said even though other schools from Soweto participated in the competition, Lourdes rose above their competitors because they never gave up.
“They were collecting even at this event, which shows their commitment and their love for recycling,” Mothoagae said.
