Students’ container collection raises funds for Italian trip and more

By Bree Harding

Jun 21, 2024

Dedicated environmental leaders Maddie Ryan, Year 9, Shaniqua Arvaji, Year 10, and Vincent Vesty, Year 9, with a purple 10c refundable container collection bin at Greater Shepparton Secondary College. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

The war on waste is one a small team of environmental warriors at Greater Shepparton Secondary College will not stop fighting while there is still work to be done.

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The environmental leadership team implemented a new container collection initiative at the beginning of Term 2 as a dual means of tidying up the grounds and raising money for various projects.

Leaders have placed purple bins, stickered to identify the scheme, around the college for students to place their 10c refundable bottles and cans inside.

So far, 2455 collected containers have raised $245.50, which will help fund a trip for Italian language students later in the year, which costs in excess of $1000 for each participant.

But that’s not the only project in the group’s sights.

“If a student comes up with a good request that they would like to implement to help improve the school overall and students’ experience at the school, we can also put money from this project towards that,” Year 9 student Vincent Vesty said.

“We do need money for other things, such as school supplies, and we thought that this would be a good way to not just help clean up our ecosystem at the school, but to also help get some extra money here and there for these things.”

The team is also looking to contribute funds towards new outdoor seating on the college grounds.

The dedicated students, who meet once a fortnight, but also regularly sort through waste to find cans or bottles that have been put in bins other than the purple one, plan to make videos, posters and PowerPoint presentations to further educate fellow students on how to use the bin systems correctly.

“Students can lose their attention span very quickly,” Year 10 environmental leader Shaniqua Arvaji said.

“At the start it was very good, so we’ll continue pushing forward and trying to motivate students.”

To deter students from putting their containers in the wrong bins, a system has been put in place where they will be required to pick up rubbish with a leadership council member if they get three rubbish “chronicles” (strikes against your name for a rubbish-related offence).

Environmental leaders have taken up their roles for the love of it. It’s an extra-curricular commitment that doesn’t count towards grades or assignments in any particular subject.

“I’ve learnt a lot through being an environmental leader, really just getting other people’s opinions and realising the struggles others go through,” Year 9 environmental leader Maddie Ryan said.

“If we didn’t have this team, the Italian trip and many other trips and projects we’ve helped with around the school wouldn’t happen.”

Year 12 environmental leader Aspen Richardson said it was rewarding that her care for the environment could also fund “fantastic things for the school”.

“We wanted to set up a program that would function in the background, that would constantly be there,” she said.

“I’m really stoked with how quickly students adopted the program and how many people participate.”

Students are encouraged to bring bottles and cans displaying the 10c refund on their packaging from home to contribute to the collection, however alcoholic containers are not accepted at the college.

Families taking their containers directly to the recycling centre at Foott Waste can opt to donate their refund to Greater Shepparton Secondary College.