The Rotary Club of Cobar, with a bit of help from the Cobar Girl Guides, has won
an environmental award for their container
recycling program.
The Cobar club was recently announced as
the winner of the Rotary District 9670 Preserve
Planet Earth Award for the best environmental
program in the District during the 2021-2022
year.
Club secretary Gordon Hill said Cobar Rotary
has been involved in the Return and Earn
container recycling program for some time and
they have a number of collection cages around
town where residents can drop off their cans
and bottles.
Rotary members pick up the cages and the
containers are sorted and packed for delivery to
a bulk management centre in Dubbo.
The club is now being assisted in the sorting
and packing process by volunteers from the
Cobar Girl Guides.
Cobar Girl Guides Leader Louise McKervey
said the Rotary project worked in well with
what the Guides were doing.
“We have refocused our community involvement
efforts this term, in an effort to make up
for lost time due to COVID.
“The 9 -15 year old girls have been working
on their Service Flash badges, which requires
them to volunteer for set amounts of hours
corresponding to their ages.
“We have been very lucky to collaborate
with Rotary for some of these hours, with the
Return and Earn program a highlight.
“Gordon and Therese Hill have been patiently
explaining the process to each pair of kids
who turn up to volunteer,” she said.
The project has also brought out a bit of a
competitive streak among the Guides and they
are keeping a leaderboard to see who has sorted
the most containers.
“The girls are loving the responsibility and
certainly getting a taste of satisfaction after
working hard,” Louise said.
“They’re extremely proud of Cobar’s efforts
to keep what we can out of landfill and are
beginning to understand the charity side of it.”
Gordon said the funds generated from the
program assist the club to make donations to
local community groups and individuals.
“During 2021 the Rotary Club collected and
returned 66,936 containers which earned the
Club $6,693 and prevented those containers
going to landfill,” Mr Hill reported.
Wednesday June 8, 2022
