Time to clean up our schools

Plastics|SA is proud to announce that its annual Clean-Up & Recycle Competition is underway and that the call for entries is open. Each year, this competition attracts entries from schools and organisations across South Africa who are eager to share the success of how they encouraged their fellow pupils, co-workers and local neighborhoods to get rid of litter and start recycling where they live, play and learn.

“This will be the sixth year that Plastics|SA coordinates this inter-schools competition that forms part of Clean-Up South Africa Week which takes place from the 10 -15 September 2012”, says Sustainability Director, Douw Steyn.

creating awareness of plastics

“The aim of this inter-schools competition is to create awareness of plastics among children and educate them about the positive attributes of plastics and the responsible use and disposal thereof. As future custodians of the earth, they have the chance to make a difference in their homes, schools and environment”, Steyn says.

Schools and organisations can submit entries in any of the four categories:

• Category 1: “Our Clean-Up” encourages schools or communities to draw up a marketing and action plan to clean up a local river, dam or beach.
• Category 2: “We Recycle” encourages schools or communities to engage with their local municipality and a local recycling entrepreneur during a recycling initiative. Participants have to identify and list the different types of plastics that they collected, as well as list which new products are being manufactured from the recycled material.
• Category 3: “We Cleaned-Up and Recycled” is for schools that organised an exciting clean-up and recycling event within their local community, or at a local river, dam or beach.
• Category 4: “Our carbon handprint” (@ home, @ office, @ organisation) encourages communities to initiate or support clean-up and recycling activities.

For each category, schools and organisations have to ensure that they involve their teachers, fellow pupils, community members, municipality, local businesses and the media in their campaigns. A detailed report on the success of the event, number of people that participated and supporting photographs must be sent to the organizers by no later than 30 September 2012.

exciting prizes up for grabs

As always, the prizes are impressive and provide more than enough incentive for schools and organisations to participate, thanks to the sponsors: Plastics|SA, Sasol, the plastics industry’s polymer groups, Pick ‘n Pay and Eco-Bin.

Each of the three categories have a 1st prize of R5 000, 2nd prize of R3 000 and 3rd prize of R1 000 for the winning primary and high school learners, whilst the winning primary / high schools can win appliances sponsored by Pick n Pay or recycling bins sponsored by Eco-Bin.

In addition to the exciting cash prizes, all 1st prize winners (learners plus one educator/teacher) will also be treated to a fun-filled weekend and prize giving in Cape Town during the last weekend of October 2012.

Find out more about plastic recycling, identification and clean-ups by visiting the various Plastics|SA websites (www.plasticsinfo.co.za; www.cleanup-sa.co.za; www.recyclingday-sa.co.za) where entry forms, rules of the competition and more information can be downloaded.

More that you may like: