With a new education van, there’s no stopping Reverse Garbage from taking our sustainability education program to even more schools across the Inner West and beyond.
With the help of votes from our amazing community, Reverse Garbage was successful in obtaining $35,000 in the 2018 round of the Community Building Partnership grants offered by Jo Haylen MP, Member for Summer Hill.
“I’m incredibly proud to have been able to help contribute to getting this van on the road. Reverse Garbage is an iconic local institution that provides such a valuable service to our community and the environment,” said Jo Haylen, MP.
Education has been a major focus for Reverse Garbage ever since it was established in 1975 by a group of teachers and community workers determined to ease pressure on the environment. Their plan was to divert industrial discards from landfill and reuse those materials in their classrooms – and that is still what we do today.
Reverse Garbage’s education program is in high demand as it is tied to STEM and the schools’ and early years’ curriculum . Having this dedicated vehicle will help us double our current level of provision.
“We are super excited about all the opportunities we’ll be able to access now that we have a van that will be packed and ready to go to schools and festivals at all times. Last year, we took our reuse message to 16,000 people. I can’t wait to see how many more we can reach now!”, said Brett Lyon, Education Manager, Reverse Garbage.
“We couldn’t have achieved this without the CBP grant. We are very grateful to our wonderful community who voted for us during the grant process.”
Reusing items saves valuable resources from being wasted. Not just the item itself, but the labour, energy and materials that went into producing it.
Reusing an existing item potentially prevents a new one from being purchased which in turn reduces the need to extract more resources from our planet and reduces emissions from transporting goods around the globe.
Reused goods are also an affordable alternative to buying new, and are often sold by non-profits and charities that give back to local communities by creating jobs and supporting disadvantaged people.