Recycling Project at OAC St Leonards

At OAC St Leonards, a fantastic new sustainability project is underway, thanks to one of the educators, Anne. She noticed that old, dried-out stationery—like textas and lids—was piling up around the campus. The children loved collecting them, but they didn’t have much use once they’d run out.

Looking for a way to repurpose these items, Anne found TerraCycle, a free recycling program that gives hard-to-recycle materials a second life. TerraCycle sorts these items, turns them into plastic pellets, and uses them to create things like picnic tables, benches, and playgrounds.

Excited by this idea, Anne shared it with the team at OAC St Leonards. It quickly grew into a whole campus project where children and families could get involved. The goal is to keep it going long-term and make sustainability a bigger part of everyday learning.

To take it further, OAC St Leonards registered as a public collection point for TerraCycle.  Their next step is for the children to create posters, which will be shared with local businesses and the nearby library to get the word out. It’s a great way for children to connect with the community and learn more about the project and sustainability.

Once 7 kilograms of recyclables are collected, the donations will be sent to TerraCycle. For every kilo, the campus earns points, which can be turned into charitable donations. When enough points are earned, children, families, and the local community will be invited to vote on which charity to support.

This project is a wonderful way to teach children about sustainability while building stronger connections within the community. Check out some of the photos below:

At Only About Children, our approach is More Than Childcare. It goes beyond education, focusing on the overall health and wellbeing of every child. To learn more about OAC St Leonards, book a tour today.