Students make waste their growing concern

A CAIRNS school has declared war on waste, introducing a new policy, believed to be a Queensland first, that has helped drastically reduce plastic pollution.

Yorkeys Knob State School’s student council has implemented “zero waste lunches”, removing all rubbish bins in eating areas and adding scrap bins for the collection of organic waste.

Students and staff are encouraged to take any rubbish home with them for recycling, while food scraps are placed into compost bins where they are used to fertilise the school’s vegetable garden.

The vegie garden, which started last year, has been used to grow produce so wholesome it has won awards at the recent Cairns Show.

Freshly grown vegetables such as tomatoes are used in the school tuckshop, or sold through the school community.

Year 6 student Aiya Williams said the lunch program had not been easy to introduce, but most students had eventually become accustomed to helping the school reach its zero waste goal.

“We’ve been going over all the plastics that are used (in packaging) and realised that in shopping centres, there are so many foods like chips, for example, that just have multiple levels of packaging, which we think is stupid,” Aiya said.

“Why do you need that? Why not just put it in a container that is reusable.”

School captain Zion Jonsson said they were concerned about the environmental footprint left by the school, and wanted to help raise awareness about sustainability.

“By getting rid of the bins, people can keep track of how much rubbish we actually allow to go into landfill,” Zion said.

“It’s also about teaching the other students how to recycle and what to do with their food and rubbish.”

Annette Frumento, the school’s head of curriculum, said the student-driven programs were an inspiration.

“We support them 100 per cent,” Ms Frumento said.

“They’re going to be our future leaders, and if we can get them thinking about the environment now, that’s another great achievement.

“We also build it into the learning they achieve in the classroom.

“And they’re enjoying it.”

Picture: JUSTIN BRIERTY FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Yorkeys Knob State School students Joos Potgieter, Zion Jonsson, Brodie Vickers, Aiya Williams, Siena Foster and Katie Crawford enjoy growing vegetables at the school, recycling as much as possible and having fun for a good cause.