Empty Return and Earn containers are helping St Catherine’s Catholic College students protect the environment while offering a helping hand to others in need.

The Catholic school has been recycling with Return and Earn since 2023, raising an impressive $8000.00 for charity.

A total of 25,030 containers were collected in the last 12 months alone, raising $2,503 for Caritas Australia.

“This remarkable achievement highlights the College’s commitment to environmental stewardship while making a meaningful contribution to those in need,” said Humanities teacher Glen Carr.

Recycling eligible bottles, cans and cartons is embedded across the K-12 school.

The school uses clearly labelled recycling bins and cages, along with small classroom and staff room recycling bins, to encourage container collection.

“Cultural change can take time, but the students are now able to differentiate between what is general waste and what can be recycled,” Mr Carr said.

“Recycling is also part of our school planning.

“If we have sports events, we take some recycle bins to the sporting field and clearly label them.

“If we have other key events, we have recycling written into our event management about how we are going to recycle on the day.”

During lunch breaks, students help sort containers into bags ready to be transported to the nearby Singleton Golf Club Return and Earn machine.

Students working toward achieving the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme can earn credits toward the voluntary service section for assisting with recycling, providing an added incentive to support the scheme.

Inspiration to keep the school community recycling comes thanks to regular updates, Mr Carr said.

“I send little video clips every so often, showing the College what we are doing, what we are raising money for Caritas.

“We publish information on the school website to let them know, and on the school Facebook page.

“I’ll even get kids coming up and bringing in bottles from home to add to our recycling.”