Sustainability

Banish and BRAD Initiative

On Tuesday, a few of us had the exciting opportunity to participate in an environmental workshop hosted by Banish, a leading organisation in waste reduction and recycling. Banish is known for its BRAD initiative (Banish Recycling and Disposal Program) which focuses on recycling hard-to-recycle items such as blister packs and especially providing reliable information and accessible methods for reducing waste. 

The following students attended the workshop: 

Conor Petersen (Yr 12), Tara Gold (Yr 12), Emilie Leroux (Yr 12), Bianca Goggin (Yr 12), Eshan Eliatamby (Yr 11), Joshua Farrant (Yr 11), Freya Carroll (Yr 8), Aimee Kang (Yr 8),  Vivienne Matthews (Yr 8), Mackenzie Willis (Yr 8) 

When we arrived at the Banish Sustainability Hub, we began by sorting through the items we had recycled at Redlands during Greenlands Week. This allowed us to understand the types of materials that we as a school produced the most (we had over 3 kilograms of bottle top lids!), and to see which materials that BRAD could and couldn’t recycle. Then, we were tasked to separate plastic bottle lids by different types of plastics (4 being the softest, 2 and then 5) and by colour. Once we had sorted them, the bottle lids were shredded by a machine for three rounds to produce small shards of the plastic, which could then be used to create usable items, such as pens, pot plants, and even carabiners. We had the privilege of making our own pens from the plastic, a process which involved another small machine in which the plastic shards were put and then using a handle, carefully pushed through a heater which melted it down and then into a mould for the type of item we were creating. This whole hands-on experience was very enriching, and for a lot of us was very important and calming. We found from a discussion at the end of the excursion that many young people suffer from eco-anxiety, and that things such as taking action and reading positive news stories could reassure us that we are doing what we can to help the environment. 

Brainstorming Session and Ideas for Future Initiatives

After the more hands-on activities, we participated in a brainstorming session to discuss future initiatives both within our own school and to provide feedback on potential Banish educational programs and work with schools. Here are some of our ideas: 

  1. Permanent BRAD Collection Station – We propose visible, transparent recycling stations (for hard-to-recycle items) in the school to promote accountability and so we can track the progress of our impact. There could be a competitive element to this as well, such as the house who is able to collect the most items wins points or a pizza lunch. 
  2. Service Program Integration – To make recycling activities part of the school services provided, more accessible for students to participate directly in and work towards better waste management at our school. Especially as a more specific area within the environment and sustainability service already, considering waste is a key challenge for us as a school. Additionally, this would count for CAS and DOE hours. 
  3. Banish Workshops in Schools and Real-World Application – Banish collaboration with corporate companies to task students with challenges to solve and provide real-world applications. We also discussed having representation of speakers and activities in different areas such as the textile industry, agricultural industry, etc. Both of these ideas are important because they can show students the broad-reaching nature of environmental issues and how they infiltrate all areas of life.

How you can Get Involved with BRAD

  • Get collecting! Wait until you’ve got enough products to fill an old shoe box or compostable satchel. Once you do, it’s time to get recycling.
  • Throw your products into an old box or satchel with a piece of paper with your full name and email address on it.
  • Send it to:

Banish
Gadigal Land
Shop 18/19, Henry Deane Plaza
2 Lee Street
Haymarket 2000 NSW

  • When they receive your package you will be sent a confirmation email and a $15 voucher to spend online.    
  • There are also volunteering opportunities to help sort items at Banish – see their website for more details

Please visit their website for more information.

Ms Kimberlee Chipper
Sustainability Manager
kchipper@redlands.nsw.edu.au