Breaking up is never easy.
But students at St Pius X Catholic Primary School in Unanderra can’t wait to do just that – with plastic – on World Environment Day.
The students will rip off the “plastic pollution” products they will be wearing on Tuesday, June 5 and recycle them.
But before then the whole school will participate in a liturgy, where students and staff alike will be reminded of their roles and responsibilities in caring for the environment.
“We will be basically taking a pledge by removing the plastic that we’ve been wearing and actually putting it in the bin to say we're basically breaking up with plastic,” environmental team leader Shay Lindner said.
“We are going to try really hard to think about products that we are using and making sure it is not plastic.
“The kids actually being a part of that by physically taking the plastic off and throwing it, I think is a little bit more symbolic than just saying it.”
But Mrs Lindner was quick to point out students had long embraced World Environment Day’s theme of Stop Plastic Pollution.
She highlighted a school project which has seen thousands of plastic bags used to create a “beautiful mural”.
“These plastic bags could have ended up in our oceans but instead the school community has come together to create this mural,” Mrs Lindner said.
“The blue [bags] signifies the sky. The grey is our path and green is our grass of course. Then we’ve got the cross in the middle with our love heart which symbolises basically and signifies our connection to creation.
“We're all in this journey together and all have a part to play in caring for our common home.”
Read more: A plastic free Wollongong
She added students had already reduced the amount of “plastic cling-wrap and clip-bags” they brought to school.
“Instead they are using paper, beeswax and recyclable plastic lunchboxes to carry their lunch in. This has been very pleasing,” Mrs Lindner said.
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
