Garran Primary School's planet-saving oral care recycling scheme

That’s the lesson being learnt at Garran Primary School since the school has partnered with upcycling pioneers TerraCycle to recycle the traditionally un-recyclable products. 

Students have been handing in items such as toothpaste tubes and caps, toothbrushes and outer packaging with gusto, year 5 class teacher Mhairi Henderson said. 

Garran Primary School has an extracurricular program called Eco Rangers, and members of the group ranging from kindergarten to year 6 work to help coordinate the oral care recycling program.

“The children really enjoy that feeling on making a difference,” she said. 

“Each week we get inundated with toothbrushes, toothpaste as well as aluminum cans which we also collect for crushing.” 

The Eco Rangers are raising funds to create a worm farm and have recently overseen the creation of a vegetable garden on campus.

“We are working towards building a very sustainable school and educating our children in the need to improve our planet and help others,” Ms Henderson said.

The school is one 1241 registered sites involved in the national scheme. 

But it is one of just three public drop off locations in the ACT with all other sites being dental surgeries.

“People are able to drop dental care items to us within school hours and we have a box located outside the front office,” Ms Henderson said. 

TerraCycle, headquartered in the USA, works with corporations to fund recycling solutions that would be considered cost prohibitive by council and municipal programs. 

“Most of the stuff we use in our daily lives can actually be recycled, it’s just a matter of cost,” she said. “Our head office in the states find the solutions and we implement them locally here in Australia.” 

“Predominantly it is plastics with oral care products. We melt them down into pellets which can be sold to industry and reused to make anything from watering cans to frisbees, park benches or playgrounds.” 

By collecting used oral care items and sending them to TerraCycle, collectors can also raise $0.02 per unit received over 1kg which can then be donated to their chosen school, charity or not-for-profit.

Since its launch in Australia the oral care recycling program has kept 112,549 items from going to landfill and raised $1993. 

The school began participating in the scheme last year. 

Ms Henderson said when a substantial amount of money accumulates students would lead decision making on whether it is donated to charity or reinvested in the school. 

“When we first took it on it was just really to be making a difference but in time Eco Rangers as a board will come together and decide that together,” she said.