Creative competition encourages recycling

THE City of Ballarat is calling on local school students to use their imagination and create an artwork that encourages the community to correctly use kerbside bins.

The competition is open to all school students within the municipality and there are primary and secondary school categories.

The new artwork for two waste collection vehicles will be unveiled later this year.

“This is a unique opportunity for our young people to see their artwork come to life – not just as a drawing on paper but as a message to the entire community, wrapped around a waste collection vehicle,” mayor Cr Tracey Hargreaves said.

“Young people are often the ones teaching their parents about recycling and sustainability.

“This gives them a platform to inspire real change in a way that’s colourful and fun.”

The art competition was launched earlier this month at Caledonian Primary School which won the City of Ballarat’s Waste Super Sorter competition earlier this year.

Caledonian Primary School principal, Ben Moody, said students are looking forward to entering their artworks.

“The waste super sorter competition was a wonderful opportunity for our students to gain real world understanding of sustainability and bring that knowledge back into our school setting,” he said.

There is less than four months until the City of Ballarat will move to a four-bin system in November, with a food organics and garden organics bin and a glass bin.

Competition entries will be shortlisted by members of the City of Ballarat’s waste and environment team before the final winners will be decided by a panel of councillors.

The chosen artwork will be on display for at least 12 months.

To enter, visit bit.ly/4kpX0Jw or collect a hard copy from the Phoenix Building. Entries close Sunday 24 August.