Tate Papworth
Caroline Chisholm Catholic College is putting unwanted plastic to good use.
The school recently unveiled a new plastic granulator and sheet press at its Christ the King Campus.
Combined, the machines shred plastic waste like bottles and lids and transform it into usable plastic sheets.
Caroline Chisholm Catholic College director of professional learning Monique Dalli said it was all about teaching the students about a more sustainable future.
“We were working on ways to reduce waste and decided this would be a great idea,“ Ms Dalli said.
“Normally we buy plastic material for our students to use, but now we can create plastic sheets.“
The school is just one of four in Victoria to be using both machines and Ms Dalli said the students already have grand plans.
“Our sustainability action group are keen to play around and make it their own,“ she said.
“They’re keen to hold competition and stalls with products made from the machine later in the year.
“We’ve actually set ourselves a little goal to buy a laser cutter with the money.“
The machines will also be put to other practical purposes like creating seat tops for the playgrounds and tiles for the school’s kitchens.
Ms Dalli said it was fantastic to have the equipment at an all-girls school.
“To have such high-quality manufacturing machines at an all-girls school is really exciting.
“It’s a terrific way to teach them more sustainable design practices, which is a top priority of ours.“
Tate Papworth
