Peel High School are powering forward in the war on waste, recently picking up a statewide award for an innovative program that has made all the difference.
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The unit then uses the Return and Earn program to cash in the containers, using that money to pay for fuel and excursions on the all new wheelchair accessible Variety Sunshine bus.
On Saturday acting head teacher Tom Gasson and IO teacher Chris Hadden were awarded the Keep Australia Beautiful Sustainable Communities Award at a presentation in Orange.
“The kids put a lot of effort in collecting the containers every day so it was really nice to have the program recognised,” Mr Gasson said.
“Having the bus means we can go out into the community at any time for a range of different programs and excursions, while the cans and bottles means that there is no cost passed on to parents.”
The program also acts as an excellent teaching tool for the Support Unit.
“It not only teaches them about recycling and environment impacts, but we also use it to teach maths and some other basic skills like shopping and handling money,” Mr Hadden said.
Since April the classes have collected and returned over 16,000 containers, recently using the surplus $1200 made to buy a new set of sporting equipment including a modified bocce set that can be used by students of all abilities.
“The bus and the program have made a huge difference to the support unit and school,” Mr Gasson said.
