Funding medical research, one bottle at a time

St George Sutherland Medical Research Foundation (SSMRF) has raised thousands of dollars through Return and Earn over the last few months, and Project Coordinator Cathy Mason says this is just the beginning.

Cathy has led the initiative to set up container collections at hospitals and businesses. All container collected are taken to Canterbury-Bankstown Return and Earn depot, with the container refunds going to SSMRF. The funds raised help fund medical research grants in the St George and Sutherland hospitals.

The initiative began when CEO Pam Brown realised container recycling through Return and Earn could help them establish an ongoing income stream from the 10c refund per container. Cathy came onboard as Project Coordinator and works closely with local businesses and hospitals to set up easy-to-manage systems for them to collect and donate eligible drink containers.

“SSMRF arranges bins, signage and marketing—we organise it all for them, and then we let go. We coordinate pickups until they are confident enough to run it themselves,” said Cathy.

The first business to get involved was St George Leagues Club. Then Cathy began approaching hospitals.

“St George Hospital was going through 4,000 bottles and cans per week in the wards. We looked at how we could set up a process within the hospital for them to donate them,” said Cathy.

She spoke to staff at the hospital to help with planning. Next, she set up an account at Canterbury-Bankstown Return and Earn depot. Container collections began in the hospital kitchen and will soon be expanding throughout the hospital.

“It takes a bit to get it going, but once it’s going it just runs itself. All they do is put the bottles in the bin, and have the bags collected on a regular basis,” said Cathy.

Drink container recycling through Return and Earn is a win-win for hospitals and businesses. It saves them the cost of waste disposal as well as reducing landfill and raises money for the community.

With St George Leagues Club, Woolooware Golf Club, Caringbah Hotel, Rydges Beachside Cronulla, St George Hospital, Sutherland Hospital, and the building company Besix Watpac, already onboard, SSMRF are excited about the opportunity for expansion.

“In the initial stages, we’re focusing on hospitals and businesses. Next, we’ll look at approaching individuals. We raised over $7,000 in the first few months, but the model runs itself so the scope for growth is enormous,” said Cathy.