SCHOOLS WIN GRAND PRIZE IN NATIONAL BATTERY RECYCLING CHALLENGE
Announcement posted by NTC 01 Apr 2021
Schools across Australia participated in the 2020 Big Battery Rescue recycling challenge, sponsored by Stockland in partnership with The National Theatre for Children.
Despite the impact of COVID, the schools together collected nearly 1 tonne of batteries and diverted these away from landfill to be recycled.
Three schools took out the top prizes with Woodcrest State College QLD winning $500 in third place with 89kgs, Leppington Public School NSW winning $700 in second place with 144kgs, and Hercules Road State School QLD winning the grand prize of $1,000 with 196kgs of batteries collected.
As part of the national challenge, all participating schools received a free educational program which included live-in-school educational theatre performances of The Energized Guyz & The Battery Bandit by professional actors from The National Theatre for Children. Schools also received student workbooks (print and online versions), teacher guides, info-graphic posters and digital games and activities that align with the important educational concepts.
During the 2020 school year, students collected used batteries from home and across their community, dropping them into their school-based battery recycling buckets.
The entire program was supported by Stockland to ensure curriculum-aligned content was provided to 5,877 students, while driving the community-wide environmental effort.
Penny Austin, Sustainability Manager, Stockland said as one of Australia’s largest property developers and a world leader in sustainability, these types of initiatives help create meaningful change within communities.
“In Australia, each year[i] lithium ion battery (LIB) waste is growing at a rate of over 20 per cent. Only two per cent is recycled. By 2036 LIB waste could exceed 100,000. Working with the National Theatre for Children to support this important initiative was a terrific opportunity to assist in an important community-wide sustainability project.”
The Big Battery Rescue will now continue for 2021, expanding to reach over 10,000 students.
More information can be found at www.BigBatteryRescue.com
About Stockland
Stockland (ASX: SGP) was founded in 1952 and has grown to become one of Australia’s largest diversified property groups - owning, development and managing a large portfolio of retail town centres, workplace and logistics assets, residential communities and retirement living villages. Stockland is recognised as one of the most sustainable real estate companies in the world by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and as a Global Sector Leader by the Global Estate Sustainability Benchmark. Stockland is also an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality, as recognised by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. www.stockland.com.au
About NTC
NTC is a premium provider of educational programming with operations in the Australia, New Zealand and the USA. NTC works directly between schools and clients to promote beneficial behaviours and life skills to students in grades K-12 on a local, regional and national level. Our award-winning educational programs are provided free for schools and are customisable to accommodate specific messages and goals for clients. Through formats including live performance, in-class discussion, graphic novels, print curriculum, and digital games and activities, we present topics such as energy conservation, safety, financial literacy, STEM, water and environmental stewardship, and health and social responsibility in ways that engage and empower students. In doing so, we are helping our clients to be forces of change for students, parents and communities. To learn more, visit www.ntccorporate.com.au
[1] CSIRO: Lithium-Ion battery recycling