Clarence Primary gets into the spirit of recycling

AVONDALE Spar and Clarence Primary School are working together to make their community a more environmentally-friendly one.

“Rather than just hand out, we wanted children to learn about the importance of recycling,” says Chris Murch, manager of Avondale Spar.

While there were recycling bins placed at the school, recycling was not being actively promoted.

Spar as a company has a deeply entrenched culture of recycling. Each Spar store sends all plastic and cardboard back to the Spar Distribution Centre for recycling. This company ethos has spilled into the stores and many stores take it upon themselves to encourage recycling in the communities in which they operate.

With the belief that the best way to instil recycling as a way of living into a community is from the roots up, Avondale Spar owner Mark Arbuthnot approached Clarence Primary’s principal, Lyn Breytenbach to start a proactive recycling initiative at the school. Avondale Spar donated 36 colour-coded bins to Clarence Primary School. These bins are dotted strategically around the school and Avondale Spar pays a recycling company to have the bins sanitized and the waste collected once a month.

“The pupils are really into it. We as a school are encouraging pupils to bring paper, plastic, tins and glass from their homes to deposit into the recycling bins, rather than toss them out with their household rubbish,” said Mr M Orchard, HOD at Clarence Primary.