Students’ recycling efforts scoops awards and benefits not only their school, but also their environment.

Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI), the soft drink division of South African Breweries (SAB) supported by the PET Recycling Company (PETCO) recently rewarded environmental excellence at the School Recycling awards ceremony.

The main aim of the competition has been to make recycling a culture in schools, and to educate students, teachers, parents and the whole community about the importance of waste collection and recycling for a sustainable future.

Winners FF Rebeiro Primary School from Mamelodi West walked away with R50 000; and the first and second runners up, Boikgantsho Primary School from Mamelodi East and Isekelo Primary from Tembisa, with R30 000 and R20 000 respectively, for infrastructural development for their schools. The schools were rewarded for volume collected as well as spirit embodied in their program which includes motivation of learners, use of the educational material, and innovation in recycling as well community involvement.

Surprise winners announced were the 10 recycling heroes from each of the 10 Finalist schools who each walk away with school fees for the year, school uniforms, stationery and school bags and the two most motivational program facilitators walk away with IPADs. In addition to these the highest PET collecting school was rewarded with R10 000, and a R50 000 prize was awarded to the top business collector partner.

“On behalf of our partners, we would like to congratulate all our winners for an outstanding effort in greening their schools,” said sustainable development manager at ABI, Gaopaleloe Mothoagae. “We thank and commend the teachers who supported this learning opportunity to enhance the educational experiences for the students and impart invaluable life skills to them.”

“It has been a long but rewarding journey for 240 primary schools within ABI territories in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. The focus was on primary school children; in order to change the behavior patterns of our country we need to change the mindset of a generation.”

“At ABI it is built into our business culture that we must develop the communities in which we operate. We recognise that the success of our business is intrinsically linked to that of the communities we operate in, and we aim to become more than just a business – we are part of every community” continued Mothoagae.

ABI has empowered 22 youth (AKA Recycling Soldiers) through the program, by providing them with business skills development and entry to the job market. These youth mobilise collection of recyclable material in the schools by enhancing schools performance, creating healthy competition and monitoring and evaluating the schools.

The success of the campaign was in achieving and exceeding collection volume expectations.  The campaign also recorded overwhelming support from parents and communities. The great partnerships with the local recycling collectors that were forged last year, and reestablished this year has seen a better understanding of recycling in the various communities becoming evident.

“This is a perfect example of one simple action by young people, supported by us, having a far reaching impact – this is something we can all learn from and a great achievement towards caring for the environment we live, work and play in,” Mothoagae concluded.

The awards in a nutshell

• 240 Primary Schools in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State regions participated in the School Recycling Program
• 255 tonnes of waste in total has been collected and recycled during the program
• 177 461 children have benefitted from the program to date
• 1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours
• 1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for 3 hours
• R150 000 worth of prizes were awarded to the top participants of the School Recycling Program