Cedar High School of the Arts is saving the earth, one chip packet at a time, and recycling to generate an income.
On Thursday July 19 the Rocklands school launched a partnership with Regenerate, which gave them bins for plastic, coloured and white paper, which they will collect, weigh and pay a stipend for.
Regenerate provides transport, logistics and recycling services.
Deputy principal Chulaine Afrika said the school had been recycling for more than 30 years.
“It was always done at a relatively small scale but the idea has always been to educate and generate funds to start a food garden and supply feeding schemes,” she said.
Ms Afrika said they may eventually employ people to work in the garden, once they have enough funds.
She said they first used WasteWise, the City of Cape Town’s awareness and educational campaign regarding all aspects of waste management but would now use both Mpact Recycling, a national paper and plastics recycler and Regenerate.
The school can raise more than R1 000 per load depending on the weight of what is being collected.
“We encourage the public and companies to drop off their recyclables and we will discard of it in the proper manner,” she said.
Pupils who have misbehaved, as a disciplinary measure, were tasked with stuffing two-litre bottles with chip packets.
“It takes quite some time and we’ve had situations where pupils are fighting over chip packets to fill their bottles. This is also a means to keep the school clean,” she said.
Ms Afrika said the ecobricks would be used to build a wall in their garden.
Since May they have collected 200 ecobricks.
The school will host a “Pride Festival” on Thursday August 2, from 8am until 3pm, at which pupils will showcase their work, including music, design, drama and dance.
Teacher Fagan Muller, who is co-ordinating the festival, said it would bring parents closer to the school, and thereby help alleviate the problems of non-payment of school fees. He added that the festival would contribute to the school’s creative growth, as one of four art-focused schools in the Western Cape.
“The festival show features all art forms and genres, international, local artists, food stalls and creative activities,” he said.
Mr Muller said they intend on strengthening their grip on “Cedarians” with sport and arts, keeping them fully focused on growth education.
They will also be having an art contest, in which entrants would be required to create an artwork with the theme “Pride of Ubuntu”.
Anyone willing to sponsor prizes and donate goods for the food stall can email mulsmuliani@gmail.com or call 078 574 6565.
