2019 Waste NoT Award winners

Published on 18 September 2019

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The winners of the sixth annual Waste NoT awards have been announced, with nine projects selected across several categories for their innovative waste management initiatives in Northern Tasmania.

2 Winners - Early Learners Category:

Harper Ling -

Harper was nominated by her parents in the Early Learners category for her project "Clean up Local". Harper is six years old. She started her Clean up Local campaign earlier this year after she visited a rubbish-ridden beach and decided it was time to change. Her family helped her launch the Clean Up Local campaign on Facebook in April, calling for volunteers one Sunday each month to pick up as much litter as they could find in one hour. August's clean-up was held at the playground on Lilydale Rd, Rocherlea, with a prior clean-up on the East Tamar highway resulting in 15 full bags of rubbish being removed. This is an ongoing project that Harper is very passionate about. Each month Clean up Local is seeing more and more volunteers.

GlenDhu Childrens Services -

In 2018 GlenDhu Children's Services were moved by video of a diver who filmed plastic in our oceans. The children wondered how all the rubbish got there, where it came from and what would happen to it. This resulted in an educational journey of research and investigation, with day to day consumption becoming their focus. Their war on waste project began. Part of their project included identifying lunch box item packaging that could be swapped for more sustainable options, as well as the introduction of a 'red cycle' and FOGO bin. During this project, the children have learned that many simple changes can make a big difference. The children are now working on creating a poster to present to local supermarkets, highlighting the issue of single use plastics packaging.

1 Winner: Primary School Category -

Trevallyn Primary School -

Trevallyn Primary are a winner today for their project Waste at the Taste which aims to increase the community's uptake of recycling and composting at the school's annual fair. Trevallyn Primary created a YouTube video to educate patrons on what can go in each bin in preparation for the fair. Through their efforts they diverted over 150kgs of waste from landfill.

1 Winners: Secondary School Category -

Deloraine High School -

Deloraine High School have won this category for their sustainable communities project which involved a group of grade 9/10 students setting the goal of making the community more sustainable. As part of the project, students completed two waste audits, undertook litter surveys, designed and installed a five bay recycling bin bank, and installed a water bottle refilling station. The students also hosted a sustainability event to inform and engage over 300 people, including pupils from the neighbouring primary school, about recycling initiatives.

1x Winner: Colleges/Tertiary Institutions Category -

Launceston College STEAM Team -

This is a truly unique project called the STEAM Recycling project which involved Launceston College college students creating their own plastics recycling plant to supply materials for 3D printers. By creating the facility at the college, the students were able to explore the entire recycling process, close the loop and better understand the challenges and opportunities in plastics recycling. They are now recycling other materials including HDPE and LDPE, and the whole college is getting involved by providing the STEAM team with plastic bottles to recycle.

This project has attracted attention across the state. The STEAM Team students made the trophies that are being awarded at the awards ceremony today, with each trophy consisting of approximately 45 aluminium cans, timber from the old Seaport boardwalk and leftover paint.

1x Winner: Small - Medium Organisations Category -

Vibestown Productions -

Vibestown Productions are a winner for their waste reduction project at the 2019 Party in the Paddock event. Party in the Paddock is an annual four-day music festival held in White Hills. It hosts more than 8000 revellers each year, with the majority of those camping on site. The waste reduction and management project was implemented and managed by a small team of event staff and over 100 volunteers. Water bottle refill stations were in place to reduce single use plastics. A cup refund scheme was also initiated, where patrons could purchase a cup, re-use it, and ultimately return it for a deposit.

1x Winner: Small - Individuals Category -

The Poulton Family -

The Poultons are being recognised for their bread bag challenge which began when their young son Callen came home from school asking why they didn't undertake soft plastic recycling.

When the family decided to put another bag in the cardboard box that they use as a rubbish bin there was not enough room for both bags. So they used a bread bag as the rubbish bag, which led to the idea of the bread bag challenge. The challenge was to reduce their weekly landfill waste to fit in a bread bag. After achieving this and maintaining it for several months, the family decided to use social media to challenge their friends and family.

1x Winner: Small - Not For Profit/Community Group Category -

Harvest Launceston Community Farmers Market -

The Harvest Market is being recognised for its commitment to achieving sustainable waste management practices each week. As an iconic and popular community event held every Saturday, event organisers wanted Harvest to be a leader in the this space. A strategic decision to become a zero-waste event by 2021 was put in place. The first step towards this was to identify the waste being created at the event by undertaking a waste audit. The audit showed that 95% of the event's waste was in fact compostable. When the City of Launceston launched its FOGO service in 2018, it was not initially available to events. Harvest worked with the Council to make it happen. There are now four FOGO bins in central locations and the market's entry/exit points. The bins are monitored by volunteers and signage has been installed. To launch Harvest's first FOGO, special guest Costa from Gardening Australia visited the event and gave it the thumbs up.

1x Winner: Small - State/Local Government Category -

Break O'Day Council -

The Break O'Day Council is being recognised for its unique project, called Hook, Line & Sinker. 

The project began after in an effort to reduce marine waste, which the Council identified was a concern to the community after undertaking community consultation on reducing waste and looking after the environment. In an effort to reduce marine waste, Council installed collection containers on jetties and the wharf. The containers are a simple design made from repurposed PVC pipe. The containers are located in visible areas with an aim to provide a place for fishers to easily discard used hooks and sinkers as well as tangled line rather than tossing it in the bay and threatening the marine wildlife and polluting the beaches.