Clean Up Australia Day

In recognition of Clean Up Australia Day, which will be celebrated across the country on Sunday 4^th March and at the College on Friday 2^nd March, at assembly next week I will discuss the role each individual can play in keeping our environment litter free. There is a lot of online material that details the degraded state of our oceans and the dangers to our health posed by the enormous accumulation of pollutants: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3583576.htm.

The environmental footprint of a school can be quite high. When a large group of individuals gather daily in one place, there are environmental implications for water usage and electricity as well as rubbish generation and disposal. At the College in an attempt to minimise our environmental impact, importance is placed on initiatives such as the collection of rainwater, the installation of solar panels, a strong emphasis on recycling and supporting sustainable, environmentally friendly forms of travel.

The amount of non-recyclable rubbish generated at the College is large. Much of this rubbish is generated from plastic food wrapping associated with student lunches, which does not readily break down and unfortunately can end up being washed into the ocean. We encourage parents to consider this when preparing food for lunches and morning teas. Although the use of paper bags is not ideal, paper is certainly preferable to plastic. Reusable stainless steel water bottles and stainless steel cutlery can be used instead of plastic ones. Re-washable containers are also great for storing food. For more information regarding eco-friendly lunches, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ9FXCbyUBM. If every Pacific student’s lunch contained one less piece of plastic per day this would equate to over 160,000 pieces of rubbish removed from the environment annually. Remember every little bit helps!