OTHER people’s trash has been turned into important treasure by pupils at East Warrnambool Primary School.
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With the help of volunteer Jim Stacey, pupils have been collecting ring pulls from the tops of cans, which are then melted down for medical use.
After about a month of collecting, the school’s grade 3 and 4 pupils have amassed a wheelbarrow load of rings ready for collection.
Pupils Isabella Johnson-Schembri and Ricki Kalman said inspiration for the unique school project came from Mr Stacey.
“Jim Stacey was chosen by one of our teachers to come in and speak to the students about his lifetime achievements as a volunteer in our community,” Ricki, 9, said.
“One of the tasks he volunteers to do is pull the rings off the top of the cans. These are then sent to the Royal Children’s Hospital to be melted down and used in heart surgery and sent overseas to be used in making artificial limbs.”
Isabella, 10, said: “Jim asked our students if they would like to help out by collecting. We have been running a friendly competition between the five grade 3/4 classes this term.”
Rather than increasing their consumption of sugary drinks, pupils relied on their families and the wider school community for their collection.
“When we started, we didn’t know how much we would collect but we got a big bunch,” Ricki said.
Mr Stacey has been collecting the ring pulls for about six years. “It’s something to keep me busy,” he said.
He is a regular at Cob and Co recycling, where he has spent countless hours removing the rings from cans. “I spend about two to three hours two or three times a week, sometimes up to 10 or 12 hours a week depending on how many cans they have for me.”
Volunteer Neville Wallace will now take the collection to Melbourne. “I’ve been doing that for a few years now,” he said.
“It’s good to foster something like this with the students. It gets them to start thinking about what they can do for other kids.”