Waste and Recycling
Children’s Video Competition
Calling all kids and families who attend a school or a preschool in the City of Parramatta local government area!
Learn more about the competition!
To celebrate Plastic Free July, the City of Parramatta and our waste and recycling contractor Suez are inviting you and your family to join the conversation on soft plastics.
What is soft plastic and why is it a problem?
Soft plastics are the types of plastic that you can scrunch into a ball and include things like plastic bags, cling wrap, and the plastic film packaging on products such as biscuits, pasta, bread, chips, lollies, and snack bars.
Most soft plastics are designed to only be used once before being discarded. Meaning they’re convenient for a few minutes, but soon enough, end up in landfills or as litter in our waterways where they can remain for hundreds of years before breaking down into micro plastics. When released into the environment as litter, they endanger our wildlife and can cause harm to human health via the food chain.
Soft plastics litter picked up by our local volunteers from the Parramatta River at the George Kendall Reserve, Ermington on June 2020
Some people mistakenly believe that soft plastics like plastic bags can be recycled via the household’s yellow-lidded recycling bin. When in fact, they are one of the biggest problems for councils recycling system!
Soft plastics need to be kept out of our yellow-lidded recycling bins, as they can get tangled in the machines that sort our recycling and stop them from working properly, and can contaminate other recyclables.
To recycle plastic bags and other soft plastics, take them to your local Redcycle soft plastic drop-off point at participating supermarkets. For your nearest location, click here.
How can you help?
We want to hear how you and your family reduce, reuse and recycle soft plastics. Do you avoid plastics bags by using your own reusable bags? Do you avoid plastic packaging by buying things in bulk? Perhaps you collect your soft plastics and recycle them via Redcycle or upcycle them into something else.
Or maybe you are one of our local litter heroes who picks up litter and removes soft plastics from our environment? No matter what it is you do to help - show us in a short video (<1 minute) for your chance to win some fantastic prizes!
The winning entries will be made into an educational video to inform the wider community about the ways they can reduce soft plastics and help our environment.
Prizes (Total value $4,767)
Students & their families (5)
The 5 winning entries will each win a prize package containing;
- A Garmin Vivofit Jr.2 Fitness Tracker Watch (valued at $99),
-
An annual family pass for 2 adults & 4 children to Sydney Zoo (valued at $198)
- A $100 voucher for the zero-waste store The Source Bulk Foods.
Teachers (5)
The class teacher of each winner will also receive a $150 voucher for the zero-waste store The Source Bulk Foods. Class teachers must be teaching in a school in the Parramatta Local Government Area.
Schools (2)
The school with the most entries as well as one lucky participating school will each win a live environmental performance (1 hr) from Eaton Gorge Theatre Company (worth $1016 each)."
How to Enter
To enter the competition, the entrant’s parent or legal guardian or teacher must submit a short video (< 1min) with the entrant’s name, age, class (including the teachers name), and school by Private Message to the City of Parramatta’s Facebook, Instagram or Twitter between 1 July 2020 and 11 October. Winners will be notified in October 2020 and will be asked to resubmit their video entry for publication.
Any questions?
Please contact
Ayesha Kashif
Education Officer
Mob: 0428 027 233
Email: ayesha.kashif@suez.com
Other useful resources from local and international sources
Recycling and soft plastics
[Video] Why can't you recycle plastic bags?
[Video] How does recycling work?
What to recycle
Plastic pollution
[Video] Freddy the Fish Teaches about Stormwater
The Problem with Plastic Pollution
Actions to reduce plastics pollution
PlasticFree July
Waste-Free Lunch Challenge
Cool Australia - Clean Up Australia
Clean Up Australia Day
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