Wavecrest Primary School in Tafelsig is one of three national winners in the recycling campaign Tubs2Classrooms and received a cheque for R10 000 on Friday 20 January.
“At our school we have core values and at Wavecrest we try to live up to our values. I’ve explained to the kids how privileged they are to sit in a classroom and receive their education while there are others who are not so fortunate. So, I challenged them to see if we can reach our target of 20 000 tubs,” says Callista Carolus, teacher and project manager.
She was very surprised when the announcement was made of the school being one of three national winners.
“At times, I thought I might not even collect 1 000 tubs, yet with the hard work and dedication of our learners we could make a difference as a Western Cape school. I was very surprised when they made the announcement. Yet with the hard work and dedication of our learners we could make a difference.”
The Western Cape School was awarded the prize money by Danone NutriDay for recycling efforts, she says.
The Tubs2Classrooms competition was launched last year where Danone, in partnership with Pick n Pay and Interwaste, set out to educate 80 primary schools nationally, teaching children about the value of responsible plastic recycling. Children were encouraged to clean and bring their used yoghurt tubs to school, which in turn will be converted into light-weight bricks to build learning centres for schools in need.
The award-winning concept took Gold in the category of Circular Economy and Waste Innovation at the Eco-logic Awards in September last year and was recently supported by Minister Barbara Creecy and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE).
The project creates a second life for plastic, while providing much needed resources to schools and diverting plastic from landfill.
Wavecrest collected almost 20 000 of the 300 000 yoghurt tubs collected throughout the campaign – the most of all the participating schools in the Western Cape.
“Schools perform an invaluable role in our communities. Not only do they shape the minds of our future generation, but they have the power to actively drive social change that leads to a better, more sustainable future for all,” says Leanne Kiezer, Head of Corporate Affairs for Danone Southern Africa.
“It is our honour to recognise Wavecrest Primary’s passion for protecting the environment; a cause which Danone values and implements as part of our business goals.”
