Sustainability at Trinity

Paper and cardboard recycling

Last year we initiated the whole-school paper and cardboard recycling process. The College almost fills six 660L recycling bins each fortnight with paper and cardboard that has been used and is no longer needed. This equates to approximately 3500L per fortnight of recyclable material that is diverted from landfill, with the potential for this amount to be closer to 3900L if the bins are filled to capacity. Overall, I believe this process has been a real success and I hope that students and staff can continue these efforts into 2024 and beyond.

Junior Sustainability Group

Our Junior Sustainability Group was first formed in 2023 with students in Years 7 and 8 coming together to develop and impart knowledge, have fun and make valuable connections between their actions and the health of our environment. I look forward to calling for interested students to be part of similar student groups in the coming weeks.

Nude Food Days

One of our major environmental goals is to decrease waste across the College and a powerful way of encouraging students to adopt waste-free habits is to promote Nude Food. This approach encourages students to have food that is free of single-use packaging or to aim for litter-less lunches that have less litter than more (every positive action counts). Trinity hosts one Nude Food Day per term where we use the opportunity to engage students with activities and promotions and celebrate making choices that positively assist our environment. The additional benefits of such initiatives help us to curb littering and promote healthier eating, which offer huge rewards for our students, their learning outcomes and our environment. The date for our Nude Food Day for Term 1 will be announced in the next newsletter.

Every-day eating

Years 7 to 10 have black wire stands located at the entry way to their classroom wing. Students in these years cannot access their lockers during break times to put their lunchboxes or food items away, so these stands are where students can place their containers when they have finished eating if they wish to move off to another area of the school. Students then don’t have to carry any items around with them and are free to walk, play or socialise. Students should collect their containers on their way to class after the break and return items to their locker or school bag. Not only do these lunchbox stands provide a practical solution, but they also mean that students should never feel discouraged from bringing re-usable containers to school.

What’s new?

Beginning this week we have a specific bin located in the Canteen for the recycling of plastic drink beverage bottles that are sold at Trinity. Snowy's Mountain Water 600ml Pump flavoured waters 750ml Sungold flavoured milks 500ml Fresha orange drink 300ml Emma & Tom's fruit and vegetable drinks 350ml Prima flavoured fruit drinks 200ml Oak flavoured milks 500ml.

The Nippy's Iced Chocolate and Strawberry flavoured milks 250ml are NOT recyclable and should not be placed in this recycle bin.  It is important that eligible drink bottles placed in this bin are EMPTY to avoid liquid slopping about the bin and contaminating the other recyclable drink bottles. This recycling bin will be monitored by students and items will be taken to the Colac Container Deposit Scheme collection point located at the Coles Plaza. Money collected from recycling across the year will go towards environmental projects and the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal.